Locked in to rip-off deal

UNABLE to sell her Taylor Wimpey home thanks to a clause that doubles the ground rent every ten years, Clair Scott has been left saddled with debt.

The 31-year-old analyst feared she would miscarry over the stress of her sale falling through after she had already completed on another home.

She bought the newbuild home in June 2011 for £200,000 with a 250-year lease.

But until last year, she was not fully aware of a clause in her contract that stated the ground rent would double every ten years, reaching almost £10,000 a year by 2067. Her buyers were just hours from taking ownership of her property when they spotted the clause, which would significantly add to their costs.

Mrs Scott, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, says she feels ‘trapped’ in a home she may never able be able to sell. She has been so distressed by the ordeal that she feels ‘physically sick’ when she visits her house, which is now rented out.

After working hard and being comfortable financially, she is now concerned about how she and her husband will fund her daughter’s future.

She said: ‘Try selling a three-bedroom townhouse to someone and say to them the ground rent is £2,000 a year or £5,000 a year or £10,000.

‘I’m really scared. I have no financial certainly at all. There is no way of winning unless the government gets involved further or all this pressure forces the homebuilders to do more stuff.’

‘We’ve never had to worry about money before. To go from that to being in eye watering levels of debt.’