Two 'Torry quines' both Trapped by Raac: 'We've lost our love of life. Is it any wonder?'
Two Aberdeen women. Both mothers of sons. Both single, both trapped by Raac.
Today, as part of our Trapped by Raac campaign, we share their stories of going from independent 'Torry quines' to losing their love of life amidst financial hardship and stress. 'They think my home would be better off flattened'
Sitting in a home that was once her pride and joy, Pentland Road homeowner Carol Lawrie says she's lost the spring in her step.
'I can't be bothered. With anything. I'm sitting here in a mess because I can't muster up enough energy to do anything about it. Why should I? They think my home would be better flattened?' Carol Lawrie, speaking from her Balnagask home, Torry. Picture by Jason Hedges / DC Thomson.
The former nursery cook, 60, has been offered £68,000 for her three-bedroom home.
She believes it was worth £110-115,000 before Raac.
'The same house across the street has been valued at £84,000. Now, are his bricks worth more than mine when they're both sitting in a pile?' 'I feel rubbish, being looked down on doesn't help'
Carol described the valuation process as 'awful'.
As part of Aberdeen City Council's voluntary purchase scheme, in order to buy back homes deemed unsafe due to unstable concrete, it enlisted the help of the Valuation Office to inspect homes.
'The woman who came to see me had no sympathy whatsoever. You'd think knowing I'm losing my home it would warrant some kind of compassion.
'If I'm honest, being looked down on just added to how rubbish I'm feeling.' Carol says she'll miss the view from her kitchen to the harbour where you can see cruise ships docking. Picture by Jason Hedges / DC Thomson.
'I can't be bothered. I've lost interest in everything. I've lost the spring in my step.'
This impending sense of dread each day led to Carol making the difficult decision to find another home. 'This is how bad it is: I'm glad I lost my job'
'I was recently made redundant…,' she laughs, 'This is how bad it is, I feel lucky to have lost my job.
'That money, my pension money and loans from family have allowed to me to get somewhere else in Torry. Carol Lawrie from Pentland Road, with her beloved pet dog Skye. Picture by Jason Hedges / DC Thomson.
'I moved here as a baby and I don't want to be anywhere else. I panicked in case we all end up needing houses at the same time on the same low budget.
'But just because I have found another place – that needs a ton of work doing by the way – doesn't mean I'll let this house go for peanuts.' 'My son says it will all work out. I'm not so sure'
Carol, like many of the homeowners, was in the process of 'sprucing up' her home when she got confirmation Raac was in her roof.
'Thank God I took longer than I should have with that. I was about to spend a small fortune putting a toilet in downstairs. Now I'm at the stage where I haven't even put the curtain pole back up. What's the point?
'My son always tells me it will work out, but we are a year on and nothing has happened. I don't have his confidence.' Signed off because of stress, Susan shares her story
Susan has been in her Girdleness Road, three-bed hen house for 28 years.
Her son is refusing to leave.
''I'm nae going anywhere,' that's what he keeps telling me. It's all he's known, so I understand,' she says. Susan* shares her story of how Raac has detrimentally changed her life. (*Name changed to protect identity).Picture by Jason Hedges / DC Thomson.
Susan has asked to remain anonymous because she is currently signed off work sick due to stress. We've changed her name to protect her identity. Regrets over 'wise' investment
Torry born and bred, she bought her home from Aberdeen City Council and paid her mortgage 'years ago.'
Hoping to build a nest egg for her family she remortgaged to buy a flat – a decision she now has cause to regret. A Torry resident now Trapped by Raac looks at the street she's called home for decades. Picture by Jason Hedges / DC Thomson.
'I took out an £80,000 remortgage on my house. I assumed that would be a safe investment. My house will nae drop below that. Or that's what I thought,' she said. 'I'm scared I'll lose everything'
A support worker, 60-year-old Susan now fears she will lose both.
'I just kind of assumed we would get help. Especially as we bought from the council.
'Now I'm just sitting here wondering what I'm going to do. The ongoing Raac situation means homes now lie empty around the privately owned properties. Picture by Jason Hedges /DC Thomson.
'You're encouraged to make the most of your assets, and as a single woman I thought it was a good plan. Right now if take their offer, I'll lose it all.' 'My home's been valued nearly £50k less than it was worth'
Susan's pre-Raac valuation was £120,000. Her home has since been valued at £73,000 by the Valuation Office as part of ACC's voluntary purchase scheme.
'That's nearly £50,000 less than it should be worth.
'The fight is going out of me. It's exhausting. I feel like I'm a hole I'll never get out of. Anonymous resident *Susan speaks to The P&J reporter Lindsay Bruce, about Raac. Picture by Jason Hedges / DC Thomson.
'We need the whole of Aberdeen to help us. We're tired.'
You can join our Trapped by Raac campaign by clicking to sign the petition below. A Valuation Office Agency spokesperson said they cannot comment on individual cases but 'appreciate this is a very difficult and worrying situation for homeowners.'Adding, 'We have been instructed by Aberdeen City Council to advise on the market value of homes affected by RAAC in Balnagask and we work within a strict legal framework that governs what evidence we can consider as part of our valuations. We always aim to carry out our work with professionalism and respect, and in line with standards set out by Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.'
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