Share your shared ownership experiences

Loopy28

I bought a shared ownership house just over 5 years ago. It is a 3 bed semi.

We could have only afforded a flat on the open market so were able to afford a house with shared ownership.

Our monthly payments have always been low, we have never had big rent hikes each year. Never any hassle from the HA, just like owning the home outright really.

We decided to sell our share last year, we had no shortage of interest but it was taking the HA 2-3 months to approve a buyer, it then fell through so we had to start again and then it took 2-3 months again to approve the second. In the end when our second buyer looked shaky, we decided to pull out altogether. The problem seemed to be was we kept getting buyers on low salaries and then each had issues with getting a mortgage even though they had an AIP-maybe we were unlucky.

We have recently bought the remainder of our property. This was easy enough, we were allowed to chose our own valuer-only stipulation was they needed to be rics, applied for increase in mortgage and instructed solicitor. Was quick and painless.

Now we own our entire home (with mortgage). It has taken us 5 yrs to have enough equity to do this but we would never have got to full home ownership of a house by now without shared ownership.

The only tie to the HA now is if we decide to sell our home, we have to give them first refusal to buy it. But I don't see that as a major drawback as would be a quick sale at market value. If they decide not to buy it back we sell it on the open market as normal.

seaview-now

I purchased a house in 1997 for £70,000 under the DIYSO scheme and arranged a mortgage for £35,000, paying rent monthly to the Housing Association for the other half.

About five years ago I needed to move to a single-story property and was told by my HA that after a valuation (which I would have to pay for) they would take 50% of the CURRENT MARKET VALUE!

The house is worth about £280,000 which would leave me with £130,000 after my fees and those of the HA and I cannot buy even a studio flat for that.

Taking into account that all maintenance is my responsibility - replacement boiler, new fencing, re-cladding - but also every drop of paint, every new floor, every electrical fault every ... well, you get it ... the HA are sitting pretty!

They have received about £40,000 in rent from me which they put up every year and when my children need to sell after my death (STUCK WITH IT!!) the HA will get at least £140,00 or more depending on the state of the market at that time.

libf

seaview-now wrote: »

I purchased a house in 1997 for £70,000 under the DIYSO scheme and arranged a mortgage for £35,000, paying rent monthly to the Housing Association for the other half.

About five years ago I needed to move to a single-story property and was told by my HA that after a valuation (which I would have to pay for) they would take 50% of the CURRENT MARKET VALUE!

The house is worth about £280,000 which would leave me with £130,000 after my fees and those of the HA and I cannot buy even a studio flat for that.

Taking into account that all maintenance is my responsibility - replacement boiler, new fencing, re-cladding - but also every drop of paint, every new floor, every electrical fault every ... well, you get it ... the HA are sitting pretty!

They have received about £40,000 in rent from me which they put up every year and when my children need to sell after my death (STUCK WITH IT!!) the HA will get at least £140,00 or more depending on the state of the market at that time.

Did you not understand how shared ownership works when you bought the house? If you own 50% then you get 50% of the sale, you would have been told upfront about maintenance costs being your responsibility and given the formula by which your rent would increase...

£130k on it's own might not get you much, but use that as a deposit to get another property with a mortgage?

Bents

Hi
I have a very good friend who is hoping to buy her first home through shared ownership which is a huge decision for her as she is over 55. The property is sold on a 70% ownership basis with strict criteria regarding age (over 55's ) and the usual not having too much money etc which I think she would qualify for. My query is the basis on how its done as the deal is you get a 60 year lease and have to pay back 1% of the resale value for every year you own it on selling. Not a problem if you intend to live there forever but could work out expensive if you find you have to move in 10 years, plus the ones for sale seem to be difficult to sell as I guess not many people are interested in this type of deal as its a very expensive area . Any advice or personal experience feedback welcome. Thank you.

Newbie78

Shared Ownership is Great!


I thought I'd share my experience too


Without the shared ownership option, I am pretty sure we would be renting for the rest of our lives


We earn average salaries but we left it till later in life to settle down and think about buying


In honestly we still didn't think it was possible until about 6 months ago, but while looking for somewhere bigger to rent we started researching shared ownership and thought we stood a chance


So we put our names down and applied via our HA. We then went to a couple of their shows (do this, it helps you get an idea where the future S/O properties are coming up and will be released so you can apply ) we happened to speak with someone who knew of a S/O property that had been released as someone had pulled out.


Our HA had to get approval from the council and they went through the waiting list and luckily we were approved and paid £250 reservation fee.


These properties are like hotcakes, so many people want them but there just aren't enough


Its a 2 bedroom terrace in a new build, we were in a 1 bedroom place most definitely not new build!


Everything is brand new and anything that isn't right we let the H/A in the 1st 12 months and they fix things.


The rent and mortgage together is cheaper than our rent was, its in a prime location and area


Ideally this will be our forever house, we don't think we will ever sell so maybe that's why it works for us


We cannot think of any cons or negatives


The neighbours are all fantastic, other S/O properties, some rentals and owned and so, so quiet!


My advice is look at your options and if a shared ownership is possible, jump at the opportunity

Andyjflet

For those on here that have said Dont Do it ? then how do you propose I buy a house when I can only get a mortgage for £70k and the cheapest flat in the area is £180k ?
I'm pleased I bought my new 3 bed shared ownership home, better than spending £900 a month on rent !!

Newbie78

Andyjflet wrote: »

For those on here that have said Dont Do it ? then how do you propose I buy a house when I can only get a mortgage for £70k and the cheapest flat in the area is £180k ?
I'm pleased I bought my new 3 bed shared ownership home, better than spending £900 a month on rent !!

Yeah end of the day its there for a reason, it doesn't suit everyone but it certainly isn't the worse thing in life. We love our experience and home

streetlovin

Andyjflet wrote: »

For those on here that have said Dont Do it ? then how do you propose I buy a house when I can only get a mortgage for £70k and the cheapest flat in the area is £180k ?
I'm pleased I bought my new 3 bed shared ownership home, better than spending £900 a month on rent !!

Totally agree with you.

I live in Cambridge and a 1 bedroom flat in my area is £400k...yes, I am not joking... Shared ownership is very helpful for us who can't afford to buy the property outright especially in expensive area. I do think, however, that a lot of people who have said don't do it in this thread they seem to be getting mad at something they should already know before they bought the property. There is nothing that they have mentioned that I don't already know eg. t&cs when selling your share, the rate that the rent will increase..all of these are written in the contract + on the HA website if they bother doing their research.

I knew damn well it would never be as simple as me owning certain percentage of the house, owning a property with HA owning the other bit of it is never going to be simple...just make sure you research and can accept to terms and conditions.

It might cost more than renting, but at least I am paying my OWN mortgage...not someone else lol

I am in the process of getting shared ownership property and fortunately the HA I am buying from is quite fair - which I think is the key. I contacted another HA before about their new builds that they are asking for very high figure of reservation fees and were very pushy about it... Like many people have said, do your research.

leveller2911

Newbie78 wrote: »

Shared Ownership is Great!


I thought I'd share my experience too


Without the shared ownership option, I am pretty sure we would be renting for the rest of our lives


We earn average salaries but we left it till later in life to settle down and think about buying


In honestly we still didn't think it was possible until about 6 months ago, but while looking for somewhere bigger to rent we started researching shared ownership and thought we stood a chance





We cannot think of any cons or negatives


The neighbours are all fantastic, other S/O properties, some rentals and owned and so, so quiet!


My advice is look at your options and if a shared ownership is possible, jump at the opportunity

Only time will tell if it was a great idea but 6 months is nowhere near enough time to give an informed opinion on the benefits/drawebacks of the scheme..........Come back in 5yrs time and tell us how its going ..

leveller2911

Andyjflet wrote: »

For those on here that have said Dont Do it ? then how do you propose I buy a house when I can only get a mortgage for £70k and the cheapest flat in the area is £180k ?
I'm pleased I bought my new 3 bed shared ownership home, better than spending £900 a month on rent !!

The reality is home ownership isn't for everyone.

Its also worth noting that the Government schemes have helped prop up house prices. If the schemes weren't there what do you think would happen to the bottom rung of the housing ladder?.. Obviously it would stall and so would every other rung , then prices would need to drop to affordable prices and along with building more homes the prices would fall .

It would also help not having £thousands of debt (your sig, if its still outstanding) with all the interest payable. Maybe start living within your means may be a start........

BTW shared ownership is fine in principle but its still not owning 100% and if you accept that then great.. Many SO owners pay rent as well as a mortgage and the owner is responsible for all the maintenance . On a new home its not too bad but things do wear out and break so worth putting a rainy day fund aside and not forgetting mortgage rates go up as well as down and are currently at a 200yr low.Can you afford the mortgage if interest rates rose to say 7%?...

These are things you still need to consider .