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[spectoacc] 18/9/2024 08:50

Some of the cheapo auction houses are shocking - Bond Wolfe, one of the RLE boss's web of connected oompanies, sticks out. Vast hidden fees.

[robizm] 18/9/2024 08:44

There are so many auctions on at the moment and some Bp auctions are crooks along with a few others Allsops are better. Viewed a non Allsop yesterday and when I said I want to book a survey the estate agent said 3 people had carried out a survey and walked. Looked on Zoopla and house was bought for £80k in May 24 and on market for £30k. So many sharks in this game.

[spectoacc] 18/9/2024 07:43

I admit one of my five is in that category.

Other thing you need to consider on the flipping front is, just how many (1,000's) will be doing the same thing. Quite a few have been popping up in other auctions already. HOME are now including a clause to stop people agreeing an onward sale before the auction purchase has completed.

The best ones I've bought have had paying tenants and only minor maintenance backlog (always some - the CICs are paper-only in some cases).

[robizm] 18/9/2024 07:39

If you are going to just give them a coat of paint and rent to the desperate then it can work. I was looking to do up a few and flip. Looked at a few and where they are your final sale price means it is not worth doing.

[spectoacc] 18/9/2024 05:44

Agree some need £30k+, but from what I've seen from previous auctions, most are going at twice Guide. Very few going unsold.

[robizm] 17/9/2024 21:19

What I have seen today, there are some terrible properties that are worth less than the guide price. I have seen decent properties for not much money up north and would not buy one needing a new kitchen bathroom and everything else from decoration to plasterwork for £30k when rightmove has ones for £50k done up and even with tenants. Allsops are being greedy and I think a lot will go unsold.

[spectoacc] 16/9/2024 10:57

Must admit I didn't view any of the 5 I bought. Viewed quite a few others - HOME seemed better with viewings with the earlier ones.

What I wish I'd done with hindsight, is get the CIC name from the legal pack, then find out whom they'd appointed as managing agent (if any), then asked the agent which the better-paying, better-maintaining tenants were.

But life's too short if you're looking at eg 40 - and 200+ in this auction.

Best of luck.

[robizm] 16/9/2024 08:31

Thanks for the advice and taking a builder with me (known him since nursery school). Will only consider ones I can view.

[spectoacc] 16/9/2024 05:45

They put them on v cheap, it attracts bidders, sunk costs seem to do the rest. Seen few go genuinely cheap.

Still at prices of less than half what HOME shareholders paid tho :)

My experience is you sometimes get lucky (particularly if same AST tenants as prior to HOME's ownership), sometimes you get a trashed disaster, and even the ones HOME claim are tenanted often aren't. Have only to look at HOME's rent collection stats, albeit that's via the fake-eo CICs.

Good luck - also know that many of the original sellers buy back the properties they know to be decent.

Overall, I've been surprised how successful the auctions have been - you'd think there'd be a limit to how many cash buyers there are.

[robizm] 15/9/2024 21:12

I have looked at most of the home properties and half have no viewings and are occupied on terms unknown. How are you supposed to bid on something blind? And how can the auctioneer value them?

[robizm] 15/9/2024 20:44

I am going to see a few of them tomorrow as might buy depending on price and condition. Am half expecting ex tenants to have trashed them if honest.

[eekhoorn] 12/9/2024 14:02

Looks to be a bumper sale of about 200 Home properties at this month's Allsopps auction 25th-27th September.

[triskelion] 09/9/2024 19:37

"It has been clear from consultation with Shareholders, and the feedback received following the announcement on 17 June 2024, that there is significant support for a realisation strategy and the return of capital to Shareholders when the Company is able to do so." - Notice of General Meeting, p.7.

Nice to have been asked. Not.

[craigso] 05/9/2024 14:59

Relisting? Would be nice.

But who's buying once it's trading again? Especially since it's been made clear that there won't be any cash distributions due to the legal liabilities. (it should be the old Board and Alvarium who are liable but that's a different discussion...)

I can't say I have much appetite at this stage for giving away my shares at 5 or 10p. Might as well let things play out...

[cc2014] 05/9/2024 07:25

"how can a £10.7m debt repayment cost £12.2m"?

That post needs to remain in history to explain to ADVFN'ers what happens when company breaches it's debt covenants. The lender bank pillages the balance sheet.

It might also be useful to some of the directors running some of the more highly geared investment trusts, but that's another matter.

[spectoacc] 05/9/2024 06:42

SW are screwing the corpse - how can a £10.7m debt repayment cost £12.2m, and what happens when (as I strongly suspect) the loan isn't fully repaid by the hard deadline of 31st December? Fees will be huge.

And HOME again quoting gross proceeds - would be interesting to know the legal/Allsop fees.

And seemingly some audited results "...Shortly", so perhaps finally a relisting?

[spectoacc] 05/9/2024 06:09

Let's give them some credit - a sale finally above NAV value. Did see one of the larger ones go for triple the (low) reserve.


"Monthly Summary

· As announced on 30 August 2024, 101 properties exchanged for sale at auction for a total of £18.5m at auctions held over the previous two days. The gross proceeds were 4.8% above the draft August 2023 values.

· Repayment of £12.2m of debt was made to the Company's lender in August comprising a cash repayment of £10.7m and net break gains of £1.5m applied to loan principal. Total borrowings were reduced to £93.8m as at 31 August 2024.

· Total gross income received for the month was £1.0m.

· The Company's audited results for the year ended 31 August 2022 ("FY22 Audit") are expected to be published shortly. "


But there's still a long way to go by 31st December, and repaying £10.7m and having a £1.5m break fee appliced on top seems... harsh?

[spectoacc] 23/8/2024 11:19

Curious how this epic racket affected house prices at the lower end.

Meanwhile:

[spectoacc] 23/8/2024 08:20

Now having a read, and it's grim. The likes of @wallywoo should hang their heads in shame.


"The Company was set up to contribute to the alleviation of homelessness in the UK, whilst targeting inflation-protected income and capital returns, by funding the acquisition and creation of a diversified portfolio of high-quality accommodation assets across the UK dedicated to providing accommodation to homeless people."

but

"The Company has experienced very significant challenges as a result of the failings of its former advisers, including: poor condition of properties, a larger than expected proportion of the portfolio let as private rented sector (PRS) rather than supported housing, weak tenant covenant strength, significant mismanagement of properties by non-performing tenants, tenants failing to pay rent and disputing rent payments, connections between tenants (and connections between tenants and vendors) that were not disclosed to the Board, tenants entering liquidation and limited evidence of the Company's former advisers undertaking any detailed ongoing monitoring of tenants and properties."


ie very much what Viceroy Research said, some of which was provable with no more than 10 minutes on Google. Yet the Board repeatedly issued RNS's denying the allegations.

This is old ground, but well worth repeating. How many bought on the Board's refutations? Or due to the rampers on here?


SW:

"The Board and AEW have continued to engage with Scottish Widows, which has advised that its objective is for repayment of the loan balance in the short term and by no later than 31 December 2024. In addition, and as announced on 3 July 2024, Scottish Widows has revised the terms of the additional fee payable by the Company charged on the outstanding loan amounts, such that this will increase from 5.0 per cent. to 7.0 per cent. per annum until repayment of the loans. As of 31 July 2024, the Company had accrued £7.3 million for the additional unpaid fees being charged since August 2023."


So not only is the accrued fee already £7.3m, but "..By no later than.." implies SW is serious.

The circular goes on to talk about block sales, portfolio sales etc, not just the auctions. Suspect that's why Allsop is a lot quieter for next week - HOME are going to block dump some of what's left. The Mears portfolio seems an obvious place to start.

The great unknown is the legal actions against HOME, and any they eventually instigate against the likes of Alvarium. We could be no more than halfway through the HOME saga.

[spectoacc] 23/8/2024 07:45

Indeed, this was what they said on 5th August, which itself was already slippage from the previous statement, despite saying the audit was "..Substantially complete" in the RNS of 3rd July & would be published in August:


"The Company's audited results for the year ended 31 August 2022 ("FY22 Audit") are expected to be published during late August or early September 2024.
· The audited results for the year ended 31 August 2023 have been prepared in parallel and, along with interim results for the periods to 28 February 2023 and 2024 respectively, are expected to be published during the third quarter."


So if the circular's out now, does that mean early September has also slipped?

Ah yes, it has, from a search of the RNS this morning:

"The inspection programme has been critical to putting the Company in a position to publish its 2022 audited accounts, which are expected to be released by mid-September. "


So an audit that was "substantially complete" in early July, has now slipped 3x to mid-September, coincidentally right around the time holders will have cast their votes.


Note also:

"The audited results for the year ended 31 August 2023 have been prepared in parallel and, along with interim results for the periods to 28 February 2023 and 2024 respectively, are expected to be published during the fourth quarter. Upon publication of the results for all these periods, application will be made to the FCA for the restoration of trading of the Ordinary Shares. "


So the restoration of trading from late 2022 isn't going to be August, late August, or even September, but possibly during the fourth quarter. Or not. My guess is, more legal shenanigans and a possible failure to repay the SW loan on time - there's not nearly enough in this Allsops for the run-rate to cover it.


There's no doubt more in this morning's RNS but life's too short to read it all, not being a holder (other than of some former HOME properties).

[terminator101] 23/8/2024 06:53

Optimise value for shareholders huh gerbils.Good luck with that with all the cash being sucked out by debt payments and defending the clowns running this shambles.

[cc2014] 23/8/2024 06:34

I find it unusual they want to have the vote when the accounts won't be available.

[spectoacc] 19/8/2024 14:44

Interestingly, "We're not expecting any more from HOME this month" says my Allsop contact.

HOME are going to sail really close to the wind with this 31st December deadline (ie I doubt they'll meet it).

Doubt they'll collapse into insolvency - they're already paying penalty interest - if only because it'd be difficult for them to collapse much further.