Property Xchange brings Oldham's empty homes back into use

Oldham residents whose properties are to be demolished under regeneration plans have purchased new homes thanks an innovative scheme that brings empty properties back into use.

Property Xchange means that Oldham Council buys empty properties and carries out any necessary work and inspections before offering them directly to people affected by clearance plans.

They are offered at market value and the receipt from sale then goes into buying more houses to be made available to affected residents in Housing Market Renewal areas.

The scheme was today praised by the Chief Executive of the Empty Homes Agency, David Ireland, who said it was “allowing empty homes to be used in more creative ways than in the past."

He added: “The general down turn in the housing market is causing the first significant rise in empty homes for many years. The effects of this are already being felt in places like Oldham.

"Initiatives like Property Xchange are an excellent response to a changing housing market and enable empty homes to be re-used by people who need homes.”

One of the first residents to benefit is Jill Chadwick who has bought a house in Holts, after Oldham Council carried out improvement work to the property.

Jill, 47, a sewing machinist, is enjoying her new home in Curlew Road, Oldham, after moving out of her previous property in Warwick Street, Werneth, which was earmarked for demolition.

Jill, a sewing machinist, said, “I think the Property Xchange scheme provides a fantastic support to residents. I’m extremely pleased with my new property and am now living closer to friends and family. They did a lot of work to my kitchen and bathroom before I moved in to make them more modern.”

In addition to the Property Xchange scheme, Jill has taken advantage of the Pathfinder’s Home Plus Plan, which allows people to access up to £35,000 to help them buy a new home. The initiative means that Jill does not have to make monthly payments and will only have to pay the percentage borrowed when she sells in future.

Jill continued, “The Home Plus Plan along with the Property Xchange scheme took all the stress out of looking for a new home. I’m really pleased with the choice of property that was made as I actually had my eye on a house in the same road, before Housing Market Renewal and Oldham Council came to my assistance. The regeneration work and new homes being planned for Werneth will make a real difference.

“It’s great being just a five minutes walk away from work and I can go for walks in the countryside now, as well as sitting out in the garden which I couldn’t do before. I’ve really benefited from the move.”

Property Xchange was introduced following requests from local residents and is currently open to residents in phase one Compulsory Purchase Order areas of Oldham. The receipts from the sale of each property will be used to purchase additional properties that can be put into the Property Xchange scheme. Oldham Council is currently in the process of adding two more to its property portfolio.

Any properties that are not sold to residents affected by demolition will be filtered into another initiative called Property Homestep that will see the properties being marketed to first time buyers.

So far, five residents have taken advantage of buying new homes through Property Xchange and a further six have been sold subject to contract.  An additional nine properties are scheduled to go on sale, and will receive a series of improvement works and inspections before new owners move in.

Cabinet Member for Regeneration at Oldham Council, Councillor Mohib Uddin said: “This is one example of what we can do in response to people’s concerns. Giving more choice to residents has resulted in them being much more satisfied with the service we are offering them.”

Neil Crabtree, Head of Housing Implementation at Oldham Council added: “The scheme arose from the concerns of residents affected by regeneration proposals, to provide more options to help them relocate. It provides a way to deal with this while at the same time bringing empty properties back into use.

“Several properties that have been empty for a long time have successfully been returned to use, enabling affected residents to relocate to an area of their choice. You could say that for the Council this has definitely produced a win-win situation.”