Toxic assets: Housing association homes and shared ownership

Leasehold concerns, sky-high service charges and strict sell-on rules. Inside the people becoming trapped from moving on and losing money after buying a shared ownership home.

Five years ago postman Robert Carver, 36, thought he was making the best investment in his future possible: getting his first step on the property ladder. He bought a 40 per cent share of a new-build flat in Chichester through a large housing association and believed that he was setting himself up for life.

But in your early thirties life moves fast. By …