Thread: Annington Homes

Hi all,

Just been having my daily nose at property for when Mr Gonzo gets out and someone said "Have a look at Annington Homes". Done this, seen a couple of places I like. Good job we're not ready to move yet! Otherwise would have spent a fortune already.

Anyway, what I want to know is has anyone got any experience of this company? The property is extremely reasonable which makes me think that there must be some sort of catch. Are there any restrictive covenents? Do you have to keep the property for a set period of time before you can sell it on or anything like that?

Anyway, hope you are all well.

Me xx

Not that I know of. Annington flogged off part of a patch I was on a couple of years ago. The prices were very reasonable, but you have to watch out for some real problems. Our houses were awful but the MOD handed back the worst of them so even though Annington put on shiny new doors, every room had an air freshener in it to hide the smell of the damp. The people who bought them were pretty happy though. A lot were bought and then instantly let out.

It used to be that if you were Forces you got a discount on the sale price if it was outside of the M25. I'm not sure if that still happens though.

They bought up and own all the MQ houses. I wouldn't give them any money but that's because ...well, had best be careful what I say I suppose

We bought an Annington home about 9 or 10 years ago and I have to say it was very good value, we got a very good forces discount on it and when we sold it on about 2 years later we made quite a nice profit on it. From what I remember the only restrictions were that we weren't allowed to make any structural changes for a certain amount of time - I think it was 12 months but it could have been 24 months, this including adding on a conservatory. I think we had to arrange the mortgage through their own finance company too but I can't be 100% certain on this as I was very pregnant at the time and not quite with it!!! The only problems we had were with selling the house, from what I remember there was a strange agreement that was tied in with the contract and this caused problems with prospective buyers, I can't remember exactly what it was (sorry!) but I do remember it causing problems with their solicitors. We also had a massive water bill to square away as Annington had forgotten to sort this out when we bought the house and it was only when we went to move that they realised we owed lots of money as we had never been charged for any water supply! The house itself was okay, it smelt disgusting and this took a few months to shift, the kitchen was also a typical army one which we had ripped out and replaced within 3 months of moving in! other problems were the doors which were also the army ones and a lot looked like they had been kicked in by previous tenants so we replaced all these too, storage was good as it usually is in army housing, toilets were tiny with strange sliding doors that didn't lock properly and the bathroom was a bit cramped but useable, we were going to get this changed but never got round to it. If you get the chance to buy one I would say they are a good buy, especially if they still sell them as cheap as they used to, but be prepared to put in a lot of work if you want to stay there.

Forgot to say, we also had to replace most of the carpets as they were pretty awful and quite stained (the lounge one looked like someone had been murdered in there, which is probably why the door had been kicked in too!!!). It did us fine though, for a couple who had a baby on the way and not a great deal of money it was very affordable!

Annington Homes have an awful reputation! Do a quick google to uncover their dastardly deeds! Corrupt springs to mind.

Same for any property purchase get a full survey by RICS chap and not just a homebuyers report.

Ok, I am well and truly put off now. Boots, your right. I would definately get a full RICS report for any home I bought anyway, just to be on the safe side. I was a mortgage underwriter for a while and saw some ghastly reports come through on property.

I think I would rather spend the extra money and not buy an Annington Home.

Maybe I shall have a chit chat with FPD instead!