A BLOCK of luxury apartments has been left half empty after properties have been repossessed.

The 84-apartment Hill House, in Defence Close, Thamesmead, was built three years ago by Persimmon Homes.

But according to the Thamesmead-based Gallions Housing Association, there are currently 47 repossessed apartments lying empty at the riverside development.

Gallions has now bought 22 of the apartments and hopes to buy the remainder.

Metal doors now mark where owners have been unable to keep up with repayments on their property and for housewife Sharon Ana, life at her rented apartments in Hill House is uncertain.

The 30-year-old lives with her husband and six-month-old baby and claims almost all the apartments were occupied when she moved in a year ago.

She said: “It’s awful because there used to be quite a few people living here and it’s very lonely now. We see very few people and there’s nobody to say hello to.

“All we can do is pay the rent and hope for the best. If the landlord is in trouble we would never know. It’s quite stressful not knowing when they are going to knock on the door and tell you to leave.

“I remember my neighbour getting her flat repossessed. They just knocked on the door and were asked to leave. We just pray it doesn’t happen to us.”

Mrs Ana says the building also suffers from infestations of rats and cockroaches.

She said: “We moved in during the winter so didn’t notice any problem at first. But by summer the cockroaches were everywhere and all over the kitchen.”

A Gallions spokesman blames the recent spate of repossessions at Hill House on the economic down turn.

He said: “It’s not the case that people haven’t been forewarned about the crisis, but the speed at which it has hit people is a bit of a surprise. I have not seen anything on this scale before.”

Estate agent Amberley Estates has dealt with eight repossessions at Hill House over the last year and a spokesman claims a two bedroom apartment which sold for £230,000 in 2005 is now selling for just £105,000 at auction.

MP for Thamesmead and Erith John Austin believes the problems with some properties at Hill House are due to a number of factors which have been made worse by the current financial crisis.

He said: “Clearly there has been irresponsible lending by banks, mortgage and.finance companies who seem to have paid little regard to people’s ability to pay.

“In some cases developers have behaved irresponsibly in sales to landlords who haven’t been checked out for their reliability or credit worthiness.”

Homeless charity Shelter claims there has been a significant increase in the amount of people experiencing problems with repossession orders over the last year.

It advises anyone who is worried about losing their home to talk to their mortgage lender first as there may be a solution.

For independent advice on what to do if you are at risk of losing your home, visit Shelter at shelter.org.uk or call 0808 800 4444