Alan and Anne Duddin, of Berwick Court, Trimdon Station, sold their home of 33 years to NEPB, two-and-a-half-years ago.

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Dozens of Teesside families could lose their homes Aug 1 2009 by John Sutton, Evening Gazette Add a commentRecommend A £170m “sale-and-rent-back” scheme could see dozens of Teessiders evicted from their homes. The victims, including families with young children or elderly people, sold their houses to a company called North East Property Buyers to free up cash. It is alleged the firm, which offers people suffering from financial difficulties the chance to stay in their own homes by buying the properties and then renting them back to their former owners, defaulted on mortgages secured on the properties. Many tenants have already been evicted after mortgage lenders repossessed the properties. The investigation, by Northumbria Police’s economic crime unit, is expected to last months. The Gazette was told by the solicitor handling the case that a prosecution for fraud is being prepared, and the Tyneside-based managers are currently on police bail. Alan and Anne Duddin, of Berwick Court, Trimdon Station, sold their home of 33 years to NEPB, two-and-a-half-years ago. The market value of the three-bedroom house at the time was £73,000, but NEPB, as was their practice, bought for well below the standard rate at £53,000. The cash allowed the couple to pay off their outstanding mortgage of £22,000, leaving them with £31,000 in the bank. The subsequent monthly rent of £250 was roughly the same as their old mortgage, but the Duddins were attracted by the cash sum that they hoped would help see them through their old age. Alan, 65, said: “I was due to retire and we needed more money to live, and thought this was a better option than going to the bank.” It could have spelled disaster for the couple, whose 19-year-old granddaughter Kelly, a student at Sunderland University, also lives at the house. But the Duddins are among the lucky ones as their home has since been sold to another company. However they are still haunted by the possibility of repossession and eviction. Alan, a former supermarket worker said: “My wife’s taken all this very badly - I just hope this is an end to it.” Kelly Bushby, of Darlington solicitors Clark Willis, the legal team preparing the prosecution, said: “As far as we know, people in Redcar, Middlesbrough and Stockton have been affected by this. Many may have sold up without telling families to try and solve debt problems.” The Evening Gazette tried to contact NEPB but the firm’s website is offline and states it is “undergoing some maintenance” and the telephone number provided was dead. Has your home been threatened by any buy-and-let-back property schemes? Take our confidential survey or contact John Sutton on 01642 234367. Add a comment