Shared Ownership/Home advantage

aussielovell

I have few friends who have been able to get started on the property market in this way and it is something that interests me but i cant find more relevant information on it anywhere.

was directed to one website which covers Edinburgh but their upper limit is 19500 per anum for single person and I am quite a bit over that, although dont know if being a single parent will hike me up a bit.

Have been to the Halifax, as advised on the website and they are my current bankers, and have been given a mortgage promise for £65,000. Problem is that there is not any properties in my area for under £100,000 and I couldnt afford that or the deposit based on that anyway so open market is not an option for me. Home advantage allows open market purchases but think that is just within Edinburgh and is still the same annual salary allowance.

feel a bit stuck. Other problem is that i stay about 10 miles outside edinburgh and there is no SO properties even close to me. The only ones i know of are in a dodgy area of town (although are new builds and look quite good) but would mean moving out of my area and taking my daughter out of school which i really dont want to have to do. I have emailed every HO who manage property within Midlothian, but no one has replied (which i will put down to time of year).

Does anyone have a successful SO story in Midlothian or can you put me in the right direction, either SO or HA.......either that, or do you know of any private investors who would consider a similar scheme?

izoomzoom

Hiya

We completed on our SO purchase earlier this month. Unfortunately it is no where near the area that you mention.

I can't really offer much, expect my own experiences, and have to say that I eventually registered with about 10 HA, when I started this business in August 2004.

In the beginning we were very selective about the areas that we would consider, but time relaxed us as we realised that we would have to look further afield. In the end, we broadened our horizon to about a 30 mile radius across 3 counties.

We expressed serious interest in 5 house (of the 10-12 in 2 years that came up) and were gutted, again and again, when other more 'needy' people were selected.

Schools were a major deciding factor for us, and we pulled out of one SO a year ago, because of lack of suitable schooling (amongst other things of course).

Anyway, hope that you do hear back from these HA that you have been in touch with. In fact try and contact them again next week, because the sooner you get one their waiting lists the better.

Best of luck, with whatever you decide.

aussielovell

ah, thanks for that....never heard of it working that way before. The houses my friend likes were advertised in local press, they went up to view, paid their deposit last week (same day) and have an entry date of end Jan. They currently private rent, have been home owners and are both on a decent wage....i dont know how they did it

Im very confused .....

izoomzoom

Most HA sell their house through their own database. However there is usually a clause within the lease agreement / sale contract that states that if they fail to nominate a suitable buyer within x period, the vendor is allowed to market the property on the open market (via an Estate Agent), however the price is still set by the independent valuer (not market forces) and the buyer will have to meet the HA criteria.

I too have friends who purchased their SO via a EA, and they have since gone on to purchase the outstanding %.

Does this sound less confusing .... probably not!

aussielovell

sure it will all make sense when the HA's start replying. They prob all have different criteria and stuff too. Hopefully they will get back to me.