Staircase or stick to shared ownership?

Mandog

I own 50% of a Shared Ownership property in London, zone 1. I'm happy here and don't want to move at the moment.

Due to an inheritance and with falling prices, I might be able to afford more of the property (there would be no rush and I could choose my time). It might be 75% of the property or, just conceivably, 100%.

My boyfriend tells me not to (we have separate homes and finances). He reckons that when I finally do move it will be easier to shift a 50% share, as there will always be people who want to live centrally but can't afford to buy outright. He says a 75% share might be harder to sell. He also doesn't want me to buy it all, as there are 1000s of new build flats on the market but not so many shared ownership ones.

I've always been focused on buying as much of the property as I can and his perspective is a surprise to me, but it seems to make sense. The downside is that while I own 50% I'm paying rent on the other 50% (though it's not at commercial levels).

It's all theoretical at the moment - obviously I'm not going to do anything in a falling market and it doesn't look like turning round quickly. But I'd be interested in any thoughts.

mlz1413

I don't know much about your area but I thought with shared ownership you had to offer any sale through the scheme for 3 months before it could go on the open market, so no sale will be quick, unless of course you own 100%.

You word the part about paying rent on the 50% like it's a bad thing, but this is normally a fraction of the cost of any mortgage and so I always viewed it as a good thing, I would work out what % it actually is and compare this to savings rates and mortgage rates.

If you and your b/f disagree on these things then you do have to remember it is your opinion that matters to you long term. My fella's opinion on money is very different to mine and we have agreed to disagree on this subject, yes I can see his point sometimes and he can see mine, but I like securtiy and he is more live for the moment so we view money from very different angles.

All that said, IMO, I wouldn't do anything at the moment to buy a house as prices are falling and so in another 1-2 years your money should go further.