Shared Ownership - Any Experiences

colcheslad

Hi all!

I am looking to get out of the renting game, and am hoping to possibly go into shared ownership in London - currently in Essex, having been back for 6 months I realise it's not for me and want to move back to the big smoke, albeit not renting this time.

Anyone have any experience of this? It looks like I can afford around a 30% share of a flat, and I have enough deposit. Is it a pain to sell on once your ready to leave, any regulation with rent increases, or any experiences in general?

Also - how long is a piece of string question, are completion times from offering to exchanging shorter than traditional purchases?

I'm all ears, thanks in advance!

Newbiebuyer2016

We are doing S/O at the moment. There are lots of threads currently on this it's worth a search.

Ours is new build so 5/6 weeks from offer to completion but that was because of a delay with Leeds bank and also we need to give notice so easily could have been 4 weeks.

They had a strict criteria and affordability.

michelle09

We exchanged today on a SO property - buying out the HA and the sellers. Never in a million years would I do this again. You have three sets of lawyers in the picture and it has been a nightmare getting them all to agree.

I can see the advantages to buying it, and maybe selling is easier if you only sell your share but you are then restricted as to who you can sell to...

colcheslad

Thanks both - looks interesting (and daunting!), I will certainly seek out the other threads. Maybe sticking to renting is the way to go!

Many thanks

wjr4

We recently looked into SO.. it looked like a good idea but the costs of buying more shares seemed to be quite expensive e.g. having to pay for a valuation & solicitor's fees every time. Also, as mentioned above - the criteria is very strict! We wanted to look into getting a house but there was absolutely no chance as we don't have children (one of the only reasons we don't have children is because we don't have a house to bring them up in - would prefer to have a garden!) even if you want them in a few years. We were offered a flat instead but turned it down as it only had one parking space & nowhere else to park nearby! There are a lot of really helpful threads on this board - good luck!

colcheslad

Thanks! I had no idea there were such strict eligibility criteria as opposed to just affordability, I guess as a 30 year old single male my chances would be somewhat hampered!

That gives me a dilemma, I moved back out to Essex in the hope that I could own my own home rather than renting, now I'm advancing in years, but for a single 30 year old male I'm finding it somewhere limited here in terms of leisure time.

Lots to ponder, thanks all for your input thus far!

marksoton

Help to buy as another option?

Newbiebuyer2016

It suited is for a few reasons.

Low deposit £4.5k

Low fees / no stamp duty.

Currently on maternity

Rent and mortgage is lower than mortgage so will buy us some time before I return to full time work.

New build house for £20k less than on the same street due to less 'frills'

Children had nothing to do with it. We hadn't declared any dependants when applying and our next door neighbours are child-less in a 4 bed. It's based on affordability.

colcheslad

Great, seems like there is hope after all! My tenancy ends in October so I guess I need to start looking around August time.

Help to Buy looks good but on my salary and with my low (£10k) deposit there is nothing near I can afford in London, I can barely scrape together a mortgage for where I am now in Essex.

Thanks again all, so helpful :j

wjr4

It's based on the Housing Association's criteria too.. where I live (Essex) there is no chance of a couple without children/single person ever getting a house via Shared Ownership.. only a flat.

ruelle

have you looked at buying non-so places in zone 4/5 in london? there seems to be cheap one beds for around £190/200k around eltham, woolwich and particularly abbey wood. the last 2 will be on the crossrail. i've seen studios in edmonton for aroun £160/170k too. would your budget stretch to that?

i looked into so purely because i want to stay where i am now in east london but at the end of the day i think it would be a waste to keep on paying so much rent, which will keep on increasing each year.