What would you do? (Moving out, shared ownership)

jsj25

Hi guys,

Just looking for a bit of advice on my general life situation at present. I'm 24 years old, based in London and currently still living at home. My parents have been generous in allowing me to pay only a token amount of rent per month, and I've been using my time at home to save pretty aggressively for a property. Although about half of it is in stocks and shares, at the time of writing I've got about £65k saved that could be used towards a property.

I'm at the stage now where I really do feel that I should be moving out, and I'm unsure about what the next step should be. My current salary is £25k (with scope for this rising a few £k soon), so nowhere near enough to be buying a property on the open market. And whilst I like to think that in a few years I might be settled down with a partner, I don't want to rely on that and would rather be in a position where I can stand on my own two feet. Therefore my only real option appears to be renting or shared ownership.

I've never liked the idea of renting as it just strikes me as paying off someone else's mortgage. I know older family friends who have rented all their lives and have deeply regretted not investing in a property of their own. I also worry that renting would severely impact my ability to save for any potential property purchase in future.

I know shared ownership has a mixed reputation to say the least, but given the circumstances I'm in it does strike me as the best option. I'd be putting money towards something that, at least in part, would be my own. And, as there's no way that I'd consider leaving London right now (due to my job, friends and family ties, etc.), this seems like the only way of getting onto the property ladder.

Obvious concerns are that I might be buying just as the bubble is about to burst, and of course there is plenty of uncertainty about what Brexit will do to house prices - but my hope would be that these are factors that will be dampened if I'm in it for the long-term. So, what do you guys think? TL;DR Is now a bad time to be considering moving out? Is shared ownership a terrible idea for someone in my circumstances? Is it worth staying at home for a little while longer to ride out any uncertainty?

As you can see, it's all very up in the air at the moment and I've been stuck in my own head trying to think through my options. Would be very grateful for any advice you guys might have.

mkgirlchick

hi.


if you do shared make sure it is vastly cheaper then private renting for the immediate area that way in that way alone you are making back some money-
biggest issue with shared is the fact it is leasehold apart from that i agree it is a good option, tho like with all leasehold properties it is currently heavily in the freeholders favour
make sure you get a very long lease 90+

jsj25

mkgirlchick wrote: »

hi.


if you do shared make sure it is vastly cheaper then private renting for the immediate area that way in that way alone you are making back some money-
biggest issue with shared is the fact it is leasehold apart from that i agree it is a good option, tho like with all leasehold properties it is currently heavily in the freeholders favour
make sure you get a very long lease 90+

Yes, absolutely. I've trawled through a few property websites and some of the houses listed have ridiculously short leases on them - makes you wonder why anyone would even bother.

Thanks for the feedback, though. Most places I've looked at work out costing about as much as it would cost to rent alone - but for a slightly nicer property and the added advantage that you're not paying someone else's mortgage. Expensive either way, though. :eek:

mk_78

I know shared ownership has a poor reputation on these forums but for me it was the only option, other than renting, and the house I’m in now costs less in mortgage/rent than it would in rent alone. So I have a lovely house in a great area with a secure tenure that I can decorate/make changes as I wish whilst paying off at least part of a mortgage. The area where I live has always had a very strong market for shared ownership (for at least the last 15 years).

That said if I were in your shoes there is no way I would be buying a shared ownership house now, what with the whole brexit uncertainty - even if your parents had asked you to move out I’d be renting not buying at this time. You haven’t mentioned needing to move out, just wanting to - I wouldn’t want to commit to buying at all but even less so shared ownership with brexit lurking so close.