My mother, who’s currently lucky enough to be mortgage free, is talking about taking out a second mortgage for this company to “help offer a home to the most vulnerable people in our community, through this government scheme, together with making a profit, is a double blessing!”.
Personally the whole thing sounds like a scam to me. I can’t find anything about this company online (even on Reddit) nor have I heard of this scheme before to really counteract this properly, so I wondered if anyone here was familiar with this to know if it’s genuine or if she’s going land herself with a mortgage that she’ll not be able to pay off thanks to being conned…
This is their website: [https://knightknox.com/](https://knightknox.com/)
Edit: thank you everyone for responding. I have written to the FCA to see if they have a say in anything but I also have a lot more material now to at least try and convince her not to proceed. It just makes me sad that these companies exist and there’s not much that can be done about them.
by segagamer
14 comments
Contact https://www.fca.org.uk/
I think it’s a scam.
Says they are based in Media City in Salford. I would go directly to the company and query them about this. This doesn’t sound like something they would do. They support local supported living but asking people to remortgage sounds like predatory practice and someone impersonating them.
in case you are in doubt . IT’S A SCAM . they will take everytning your mum has and you may pick up the bill.
They will sound sincere and caring BUT IT’S ACT
Way too many red flags. I’m 99% sure it’s a scam. Tell your mum not to interact with them any further.
Assuming that it’s not a scammer posing as them – https://knightknox.com/assisted-living-property-investment/ looks like it’s essentially a scheme where you buy property, they manage it on your behalf.
What’s not clear is whether you are investing into a fund, thus you can withdraw funds, or if you are actually buying a property.
Has your mother been encouraged to remortgage her house to then pay for this investment, or to get a buy-to-let mortgage on a new property?
Something is way way off, knightknox seem a be to let and off plans investment estate agent aimed at non UK
buyers.
No suggestion of helping poor people buy homes or equity release,which is what this sounds like, except your mom won’t get the equity.
Run, run fast.
No, but anything that asks you to put your home at risk should automatically be approached with caution. Especially when interest rates are historically high and house prices are not rising as fast as they used to.
Edit – I forgot to mention that you can find information about any limited company or plc at Companies House https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-a-company
The company appears to be a property broker (glorified estate agent) facilitating property acquisition. It seems to be registered with the Property Ombudsman, which makes (some) sense when you read the terms and conditions in relation to how it gets makes its money:
*How Knight Knox get paid for their service: In the main, Knight Knox, their agents, associates or employees are paid a percentage of the builders, agents or developers profit/fees and this is generally part of the allocated budget for marketing and sales and therefore the buyer does not pay more for a property as a result of buying via Knight Knox. Therefore, in effect, a client receives a free service from Knight Knox,* ***including the advice, support, search and ability to source property*** *as well looking to bring only the best properties to clients. There are some circumstances where a sales admin fee is charged to the client by Knight Knox where there are low or no commissions available via the property owners, but this will be clearly discussed and agreed with the client beforehand.*
There’s no mention of it offering any kind of financial services, which is probs why there’s no FCA registration and no mention of the Financial Ombudsman Service. It doesn’t appear to perform any financially regulated activities, although that’s not to say it’s not associated with companies that do. The bold bit below is exceptionally poorly worded but basically translates to *don’t take anything we say as any kind of financial advice* (although it probably wouldn’t stand up to regulatory scrutiny):
*Associated companies’ actions: Knight Knox, its agents, associates or employees shall not be held liable or responsible for the actions of other persons or companies or firms with which it may be associated or have connections with. Finance & Investment advice:* ***Any investment or financial advice given by Knight Knox, its agents or associates are a guide only*** *and expert tax, financial planning and mortgage advice will be required to confirm information when purchasing a property.*
For a commercial property ‘enterprise’, 20 years experience doesn’t seem like much. It could translate to a couple of people having dabbled in this sort of thing for ten years each, or four having done five years each. Either way, it’s probably not a scam, but property investment of this type isn’t something anyone should consider without having sought entirely independent financial advice – especially if there’s any suggestion that you’re going to take out a loan on the ‘promise’ of it being paid off by the returns generated by whatever you’ve invested in. And whilst it may sound simple, this can be a complex (read *very high risk*) area of investment.
With all that being said, I can’t see any mention of any government scheme you made reference to. Again, not to say the company itself isn’t legit, but for all the above reasons and those others have raised, tread *very* carefully.
You should check with Knight Knox to confirm that they have been in contact with your mother.
You may also like to consider obtaining Financial Power of Attorney over your mother’s affairs.
She owns her home, mortgage-free.
There are many scumbags that would like to change that.
Never let someone compromise her investment.
Post in r/Scams they might have more info
Knightknox started up twenty years back but looks like knight and Knox have left the business. A few companies in the group all based in media city.
Agree with everything already covered in thread.
Also encourage you to sign up for property alerts with land registry, a mortgage fee property can often be targeted by scammers.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/property-alert#how-it-works
Yes I have. My father registered with them and received daily emails about properties for sale in Manchester. I quickly nipped it in the bud and had him unsubscribed. Nothing further since then.