shared ownership- to buy or not to buy- help!

Melbryce11

We are currently considering buying the house we are renting through shared ownership. The house is through the key worker scheme. I just keep going over is it the right idea and are there ways you can haggle like you can in the open market? It seems like the overall cost of the house is, in my opion overpriced? The property will become freehold if we staircased to 100% share but we can only afford a 50% share at present. Has anyone got experience of shared ownership and can run me through the highs and lows? Thanks

poppy10_2

Melbryce11 wrote: »

It seems like the overall cost of the house is, in my opion overpriced?

Yes, that's how these scams work. They inflate the price and then pretend they are giving you a share of a more valuable property. Also you get all the costs of ownership (maintenance, insurance etc) but many of the drawbacks of renting (not allowed to make certain modifications without the HA's permission, not allowed to rent out the property if you have to move away from the area without the HA's permission, when you come to sell the property you may have to agree to the HA's rules on what price and give them first refusal to buy it). It's the worst of both worlds.

Shared ownership is a massive scam, please stay away.
There are so many stories like the ones posted by these two victims today. Both were sold at inflated values leaving the "owners" with millstones around their necks:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5386515


More info here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3177256

Melbryce11

Crikey! So glad I posted- many many thanks for your advice! I am just so desperate to get onto the ladder but this seemed like the only solution with 2 children, childcare costs etc.

Andrew_Ryan_89

I agree with Poppy, though some people can get very lucky with them. My colleague purchased a 3 bedroom flat in Hackney, buying 40% of the then £270,000 building. Within the 3-4 years he's been there, it's more than doubled in value.

Melbryce, it will be interesting to know a little more about your situation - location, budget, deposit etc.

Pixie5740

If your colleague's property has doubled in price then so has the cost of him staircasing to 100%

Shared ownership can be a good option if buying in the traditional way is just not an option for you as shared ownership gives you more security and control over having an AST. In areas like London where property prices continue to outstrip the rate that FTB can save then shared ownership can be good option if you intend on living in the property for the foreseeable future.

Each shared ownership scheme is different though and it's important to understand the ins and outs before committing yourself. Things like how quickly can you staircase, how is the valuation worked out for staircasing, can you appeal the valuation, are you allowed to staircase to 100%. Also keep in mind that it's much easier to sell a property when you have staircased to 100% compared with a property you've only staircased to 60% for example.

COMPETITIONFANATIC

Sorry but I think you guys are being overly negative , shared ownership has been great for me , I bought a place with my ex 7 years ago and it was a brand new 2 bedroom property with garden and 2 parking spaces , rent and combined mortgage was £850 a month , typical rent for that area with a property that we got was about £1000 then so we saved straightaway , then 7 years later we come out of our fixed term period and the mortgage has gone right down making rent and mortgage together £600 a month. The property has gone right up on price and if we selled tomorrow we would get £37,000 equity that we never had if we had rented. Property prices are on the up so I would get in quick, with that equity we could look to buy a place out of town on possibly a whole mortgage or remortgage to buy more shares so think its worth it all round. No worrying about having to move at all.


Also guiness trust are not interested in purchasing it if we sell it at all.
Service charge with guinesss trust is included in the rent and any arrears or overpayment and they ask you for it or send a cheque , so last year they gave me £250 and this year I paid extra £150.
If you rent privately you would have to move often and loose deposits etc , they say your not supposed to rent it out but these housing associatons always say no pets and everyone has them, they would turn a blind eye if that was what you were going to do in the future tbh.

gaz141

Unfortunately whenever someone posts a "Help me" with Shared Ownership questions thread, the usual suspects come out with their doom and gloom, don't do it upon pain of death scenarios. Don't pay any heed to them, there are lots of success stories with SO. As long as you know what you are entering into, you will be fine, and indeed according to David Cameron today this is the way forward for future house building