Wandle housing association 'gazumps' buyers

People hoping to buy homes in Streatham through a shared-ownership scheme say they've been "gazumped" by the housing association that was meant to be helping them.

They claim the social housing provider Wandle has doubled the cost of the homes making them unaffordable - only weeks before they were due to move in.

Richard Hoque said the association had increased the value of the property he was going to buy from £267,000 to £417,000 making it unaffordable while Marina Hughes said it means she can no longer afford what was to be her first home, and Ed Mead, executive director of Douglas and Gordon, explains how this can happen.

In a statement, Wandle offered its sincere apologies, but said the rise was due to the substantial increases in the value of London property which was beyond its control.