Juggling work, a young child and housing difficulties has been ‘overwhelming’
Sam Marshall has had a nightmare year due to delays with his shared ownership property(Image: Supplied)
A self-employed dad has endured a ‘year from hell’ due to repeated delays with the house he bought.
Sam Marshall, a 35-year-old painter and decorator, thought he had finally realised his dream of getting on the property ladder when he was told his home in the Highbrook View Phase Two estate – being built by Crest Nicholson on behalf of Sovereign Network Group – in Stoke Gifford was ready in November 2024.
Sovereign Housing initially gave Sam an estimated completion date for the purchase of January 17 this year. Despite that date being pushed back a couple of times, Sam said he was repeatedly told the property would be ready soon.
Acting on good faith, and the assurances of Sovereign, Sam told his former landlord he would be moving out of his rented accommodation at the end of August. Now, more than a year since he was first told the house was his, the property is still not ready.
Sam now faces the prospect of having to move to Wales to live with his parents, a move that would force him to take his daughter out of her primary school in north Bristol. He has been sharing a single room in temporary accommodation with his nine-year-old since August, while trying to run his own business and care for his dog.
“The constant delays and repeated broken promises have been devastating, and I now have very little confidence in any dates provided,” Sam said.
“I entered into shared ownership in good faith, having been advised that the property would be ready by January 2025.
“Instead, the ongoing failures of both Sovereign Housing and Crest Nicholson have caused extreme emotional, financial, and practical hardship for my family, placing us in an entirely avoidable crisis. I have spent many months paying rent and storage costs that could and should have been used to reduce and pay off my mortgage.”
Sam estimated he had spent £12,300 on rent, £1,225 on storage and £790 on dog care during the delay, all at a time when he could have been chipping away at his mortgage, had he moved in as originally planned.
While the financial side of his quandary has undoubtedly been stressful, Sam said it paled in comparison to the ‘overwhelming’ impact of the delay on his daughter.
“That’s been the hardest part,” he said. “If it was just me, it wouldn’t be so bad but I’ve had to deal with her because she’s been looking forward to it, and she’s getting told no, and we’ve got to share a room together (until the house is ready).
“She’s been crying, she’s been really emotional about it, the uncertainty is what’s impacting her and that’s what gets to me the most.
“I’m putting her through this because of their delays and trying to manage everything is just overwhelming.”
Sam said he had been given a variety of different reasons for the repeated delays, the most recent of which was problems with his property’s garden.
Sovereign Network Group is one of the largest housing associations in England, providing over 85,000 homes across the South West, London, the South East and East. It will be responsible for the 66 ‘affordable’ homes being offered as part of the controversial redevelopment of the former Baltic Wharf caravan park into 166 new flats.
A Sovereign spokesperson said they understood the difficulties Mr Marshall was going through. However, they said customers should always wait until a moving in date was fully confirmed before giving notice on any existing accommodation.
“We appreciate how difficult this situation is for the customer and his family,” a SNG spokesperson said.
“We’ve been working with the developer Crest Nicholson to make sure all compliance, safety and technical standards are fully met before the property is handed over. We’re committed to providing good quality homes, and we will not move a customer into a property while outstanding issues remain.
An inspection of the property was planned for the end of November. “As a result, we expect to have a clearer view of when it will be ready and we’ll continue to keep the customer updated with progress,” the spokesperson said.
“We always make it clear to customers that they should not give notice on their current accommodation until we have confirmed a moving in date with them.”
As of December 3, Mr Marshall said he still did not have a confirmed move in date, over a year since the saga began.