Co-Ownership

shopaholic232

Has anyone gone through co ownership to buy there first house, how hard is it to get accepted into this as a single applicant?

arkonite_babe

Theres usually a quota each month. IIRC it can be as low as 80 applicants per month. The website hasn't been updated for a while as you can see HERE, so it might be best to give them a call.

Step by Step Q&A can be found HERE

HTH

saverbuyer

This is a scheme designed for people who can't afford a house to get it. It is a scam designed to try and inflate house prices.

There is currently no quota. Anyone can apply.

If you have had a missed payment in the last 6 months you are automatically rejected. If you have, then save the fee and don’t apply.

If you have more than 5K of savings (over the deposit) you can't apply.

You still need a deposit for the share you want to buy.

You have to pay co-ownerships fees and your own for each time you buy a share.

You pay 100% to maintain the property and all ground rent and service charge. You pay all repairs.

Only one lender offers co-ownership mortgages. Ulster Bank. You will not have the option to change mortgage provider and will be stuck at the rates they offer.

I’ll say it again, This and scheme like it are designed to keep prices high and enable people (who have to prove they can’t afford a house) get one. Much better to save a deposit and buy something you can afford.

warmhands.coldheart

saverbuyer wrote: »

This is a scheme designed for people who can't afford a house to get it. It is a scam designed to try and inflate house prices.

There is currently no quota. Anyone can apply.

If you have had a missed payment in the last 6 months you are automatically rejected. If you have, then save the fee and don’t apply.

If you have more than 5K of savings (over the deposit) you can't apply.

You still need a deposit for the share you want to buy.

You have to pay co-ownerships fees and your own for each time you buy a share.

You pay 100% to maintain the property and all ground rent and service charge. You pay all repairs.

Only one lender offers co-ownership mortgages. Ulster Bank. You will not have the option to change mortgage provider and will be stuck at the rates they offer.

I’ll say it again, This and scheme like it are designed to keep prices high and enable people (who have to prove they can’t afford a house) get one. Much better to save a deposit and buy something you can afford.

I'd second that. My now wife bought her first flat through co-ownership.... by the time she had paid all you mention above she would have been paying about £75/month less had she actually owned the flat outright and been paying a full mortgage on it. complete rip off in my view too unless you could be sure the property value will significantly increase over the next number of years..

wanchai_2

I would also advise caution. CO is a total scam, and very dangerous in a falling market.

BigAl94

Don't touch co-ownership, potential disaster in this climate.

shopaholic232

Hi thanks for all the replys, so unsure what to do. The reason our broker advised co ownership as it helps with the deposit as they said most would be looking for 20-30% deposit

saverbuyer

For a start you don't need a broker for co-ownership and secondly it's not a good idea to try and use it as a way to avoid saving a deposit, when you will be penalised on your rate.

Plenty of houses are on the market, you don't need to buy this one and prices are falling.

You can't afford it.

I see from your other thread the house cost 150K and you earn 30K. That's 5 times earnings with the lowest interest rates in history.

You don't need co-ownership. You need to walk away. Save a deposit, watch prices continue to drop and look for something much cheaper.

x12yhp

I know this might sound preachy but the info others have stated is in agreement...

Perhaps if you cannot reach the necessary deposit to buy on your own, you can't yet afford the property? This was the fundamental problem which inflated the market - people were allowed to buy properties which they should have known they could not avoid. If you are not too far away from the deposit, another few months of hard saving will get you there and if it wont, then I would have to return to my concerns about affordability in the present (negative) market.

walls_c_2

Just in reply to what all is being said on this thread...
I bought my house through Co-Ownership in 2007, I was lucky in a sense that there was much more money being handed out at that time, my brother has been through the scheme also (more recently as a single applicant) and they have definately reduced the amount of applications they will approve.
I have to say I havent many negative things to say about the scheme. I bought my house at the height of the boom and it has since lost approx 40k in value.. but the good thing is that my loss is actually halved because co-ownership own half the house. Also, If I want to buy back a lump sum (they call it staircasing) at the moment, it goes on current market value and not what was paid at the beginning. So technically if i could afford to buy back my other 50% right now, I'd probably save myself about 30k!!
Their rent does go up every year with inflation and you do have to go and speak to an advisor under certain circumstances - e.g. if you plan to do major renovations - but in general I dont have much bad to say about it..
If you aspire to own your own home and youve done all your research and are sure you can afford it, then I think Co-ownership is a really good option. I wouldnt be in my home if it hadnt been for the scheme.
I cant be totally sure about what was said about Ulsterbank being the only lender offering co-ownership mortgages at the moment... unless it has changed since I went through it.. But in my case, I applied for co-ownership and I applied for a mortgage for the other half. I took a fixed rate mortgage and have since had to renew the mortgage and have had no problems. Maybe Ive been lucky, but I also did my research and saved like a mad woman 'just in case'.
I hope I have been able to give you a more positive outlook on the scheme, just go and speak to the people who know the facts and make sure you ask lots of questions so that you are properly informed. Also, you need to think about if buying a house/flat is for you for the long-term or are you wanting to make money from it? For me, it was a home and it didnt matter if it lost a bit of value because I intended to stay there for forseeable future, so all just depends where your priorities lie. Good luck!

wanchai_2

walls_c wrote: »

Just in reply to what all is being said on this thread...
I bought my house through Co-Ownership in 2007, I was lucky in a sense that there was much more money being handed out at that time, my brother has been through the scheme also (more recently as a single applicant) and they have definately reduced the amount of applications they will approve.
I have to say I havent many negative things to say about the scheme. I bought my house at the height of the boom and it has since lost approx 40k in value.. but the good thing is that my loss is actually halved because co-ownership own half the house. Also, If I want to buy back a lump sum (they call it staircasing) at the moment, it goes on current market value and not what was paid at the beginning. So technically if i could afford to buy back my other 50% right now, I'd probably save myself about 30k!!
Their rent does go up every year with inflation and you do have to go and speak to an advisor under certain circumstances - e.g. if you plan to do major renovations - but in general I dont have much bad to say about it..
If you aspire to own your own home and youve done all your research and are sure you can afford it, then I think Co-ownership is a really good option. I wouldnt be in my home if it hadnt been for the scheme.
I cant be totally sure about what was said about Ulsterbank being the only lender offering co-ownership mortgages at the moment... unless it has changed since I went through it.. But in my case, I applied for co-ownership and I applied for a mortgage for the other half. I took a fixed rate mortgage and have since had to renew the mortgage and have had no problems. Maybe Ive been lucky, but I also did my research and saved like a mad woman 'just in case'.
I hope I have been able to give you a more positive outlook on the scheme, just go and speak to the people who know the facts and make sure you ask lots of questions so that you are properly informed. Also, you need to think about if buying a house/flat is for you for the long-term or are you wanting to make money from it? For me, it was a home and it didnt matter if it lost a bit of value because I intended to stay there for forseeable future, so all just depends where your priorities lie. Good luck!

Unless your house was £70-80K in 2007, I'd wager that it's lost more than £40K in value...

Be honest. Could you afford your house, or one in your street, if you were to buy it now without CO? The answer is probably yes.

I feel utterly sorry for those who bought at the height of the boom. Thankfully, you are not trying to sell, but there are plenty who need to move for whatever reason and are stuck in massive negative equity. These houses will not go back to their boom value for a generation. A total nightmare.