a Little Shared Ownership whinge.. What to do?

Kuztardd

deleted thread

Jowo_2

Move out of London. It's never affordable to a single person even on good wages.

People assume the moment they move past the M25 that their salary will plummet by 90% and they will have no social life and no amenities.

Shared ownership properties are hard to sell. You may be stuck with it for the rest of your life.

Why buy your 'own' place only to have to have lodgers for perpetuity to afford the place.

There are options outside of London. You can buy a place to yourself somewhere else, in another major city, and have at most a slight drop in income or a drop that is more than made up for the fact that other expenses, such as travel and social ones, are significantly less.

Go North, young man.

Jowo_2

Shared ownership homes aren't that attractive and in a flat market, must be even harder to shift.

When I say move, I don't mean 'move and commute', I mean move somewhere else entirely find a new job in a different city, where it's possible to maintain a similar or higher standard of living without having to share a flat with strangers or spend hours travelling to work.

Because if you have doubts about SO, and you cannot afford a property outside of London because of the stress of the long commute, what other option do you have but to continue to rent in London or move somewhere completely different?

There's no other option, is there?

poppysarah

Kuztardd wrote: »

Thanks for your reply Jowo,

I have thought about moving further away, but I suppose my excuse for looking more locally is that I work 12 hour days, to then spend a further couple of hours travelling its a real impact.

I think he meant "move and move your job"

Jowo_2

Well that makes your options much more limited, as it's either accept the risks of SO or continue renting.

I thought some of the media activity (well at least Beeb wise and some independents) has moved to Glasgow and Manchester? Not that I would know the first thing about your career options, though.

I have an active relationship with my niece and nephew who are in completely different counties or countries via Facebook and occasional visits. Hell, I'm not going to raise them - all the tough stuff is for their parents, I just waltz in with presents on the required occasions and take them out for treats...!

SmlSave

Hi Kuztardd, though I'd just let you know that I'm one of the odd ones who thinks that shared ownership does work for some people.

I work in a solicitors and have met people that have bought their shared ownership properties.

poppysarah

SmlSave wrote: »

I work in a solicitors and have met people that have bought their shared ownership properties.

And 5 years on are they all happy?

If you ever wished as a child that when you grew up you could own 50% of a house please tell me now.

BitterAndTwisted

OP I see that you're in North London. Have you looked at any properties on the northern reaches of the Victoria Line (N15, N17 and E17)? The postal districts may not sound very promising but there are good and bad roads thereabouts just like anywhere else.

There's quite a nice Fairview development at Bream Close which is 500 yards from Tottenham Hale station and some of the properties have a view of the River Lea. I'm told that they have quite an active tenants and residents association. One bedders come up there every now and then for under £120k BUT they're small. However they are not shared-ownership and you can get to Oxford Circus in 20 minutes.

BitterAndTwisted

What about this one?

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-30875237.html

There are non shared-ownership properties about but it just takes a bit of looking. Dunno about SE London/Essex way but there must be something somewhere within your price-range which won't entail a 90-plus minute commute.

betmunch

In my experience selling Shared Ownership properties is a doodle - Once the HA allows you to market it through an Estate Agent!

If you are unhappy with your current situation then you must do something to change it, if you feel you will be happier owning something but cant get to buy a whole house then buying a share of a house is better than nothing. Also you will have the option to buy the rest of the house at a later date in most cases.

In my opinion, Shared ownership is a very good option for a lot of people, but not everyone. it shouldnt be dismissed categorically, but should be considered as a viable option

Jowo_2

There are 400 plus properties for sale in Croydon on Rightmove in the 120-180k range, including 'luxury' flats and small houses (admittedly, some of them look downright nasty) which has fast train links to London Bridge (15/20 mins?)

If you haven't got Clapham money then you'll have to lower your expectations...

Here's a nice doer-upper for you

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-25353647.html

a wee house with walk-in condition

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-28290253.html?premiumA=true

cute cottage

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-16922937.html

flat in new development

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/new-homes/property-23150752.html

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/new-homes/property-26817859.html