My Shared Ownership Journey

AEC

So, I'm sat here in my brothers old bedroom watching You've Been Framed. The pooch is snoring her head off downstairs with my parents. Yep, I'm almost 31, living at home and single, again.

It wasn't always like this. I had a lovely 3 bed detached house with, who I thought was, the man of my dreams. Turns out it wasn't meant to be and now I'm back at square one.

As you've probably guessed from the title I'm going down the shared ownership route. How far I'll get, I don't know. But I thought I'd document everything that happens, the good, the bad and hopefully the not too ugly.

First step was to fill out an enormous form to see if I'm eligible for the scheme. I did the yesterday and should know within the next few days.

I bet you're all on the edge of your seats!

Paul_the_Painter

Good luck, many people will come on here and poo poo going down the shared ownership route. Go in with your eyes open, and depending on where you are consider the second hand market in shared ownership. I've said it before but some older shared ownership leases allow you to do pretty much what you like with the property which may be useful in the future (I.e. rent it out when Mr Right mk2 comes along) Some leases are much more restrictive, but as long as there is a decent local market for them you'll be OK.
Shared ownership is not a panacea, but it's a good option for a lot of people.
One again good luck!

Twiglet12

We're just finishing our SO purchase. We've gone from making an enquiry/filling out the form to exchanging contracts in the space of about 5 weeks! Ours is in London so was our only option in terms of deposit level. Good luck!

AEC

Paul_the_Painter wrote: »

Good luck, many people will come on here and poo poo going down the shared ownership route. Go in with your eyes open, and depending on where you are consider the second hand market in shared ownership. I've said it before but some older shared ownership leases allow you to do pretty much what you like with the property which may be useful in the future (I.e. rent it out when Mr Right mk2 comes along) Some leases are much more restrictive, but as long as there is a decent local market for them you'll be OK.
Shared ownership is not a panacea, but it's a good option for a lot of people.
One again good luck!

Thanks, Paul!

Unless I find myself a wealthy gentleman or I win the lottery (both I don't intend taking my chances with!) then it seems that the shared ownership route might be for me.

We'll see!

Twiglet12 wrote: »

We're just finishing our SO purchase. We've gone from making an enquiry/filling out the form to exchanging contracts in the space of about 5 weeks! Ours is in London so was our only option in terms of deposit level. Good luck!

Crikey that's quick! The houses I'm interested in won't be available until September so it's going to be a slow process. However if the right house comes along before then, things could change.

I have a large-ish deposit but my income means I'd struggle to get a decent size mortgage if I bought 'normally'.

aileth

Good luck, OP. Shared Ownership has been fantastic for us so far, and we have no plans to move yet!

AEC

aileth wrote: »

Good luck, OP. Shared Ownership has been fantastic for us so far, and we have no plans to move yet!

Thanks!

I neglected to put my employers details on my form (I say neglected, it didnt specify that I had to) so have sent those through and am waiting to hear back.

Any hints or tips welcome!

aileth

The most frustrating thing for us was getting a solicitor who dealt in shared ownership. The only people near us who touched it were Partners and we ended up paying A LOT more because of it!

Paul_the_Painter

Where are you and which housing association?

Hints and tips many vary!

AEC

Paul_the_Painter wrote: »

Where are you and which housing association?

Hints and tips many vary!

Bromford Homes, West Midlands

I actually work on the building site they're building on and have cleaned a good amount of their homes already. Also, I used to live on the same site before having to move home so know the area well.