Shared ownership with property abroad

Harslo

Hello! I am looking to buy soon with my partner and I feel we've fallen through the cracks a bit in regards to first time buyer help. I'm British and classed as a first time buyer, while his name is listed as one of the owners of his childhood home abroad where his mum still lives. Our lives are fully in the UK and he doesn't make any money from the share of this property, and selling would obviously be out of the question since his mum still lives there.
At the moment it would be too much for us to be able to afford the deposit to buy outright (outer London) in addition to paying the higher rate of stamp duty, not to mention he has been ineligible for htb ISAs etc. We both feel like struggling first time buyers so it's annoying that this situation means we would not only miss out on any FTB help, but also pay more stamp duty than non-ftb! So we are considering shared ownership under only my name as a way to at least get on the ladder, it can't be under both our names as again he would be ineligible, which really limits our options going on only my affordability but there you go. My question is, is it completely acceptable to housing associations, mortgage providers etc. that I tell them this situation? Is it totally fine to say that we're putting it under my name because of his share in property abroad, or will they immediately say no you're ineligible for shared ownership because of this? I want to do everything right but at the same time buying seems otherwise impossible, I am wondering whether people just don't mention their partner in this situation, since we're unmarried and it would be sole ownership anyway. And are there any legal issues with this, or is it legally my own business whether or not I have a partner that will live with me when I apply for shared ownership? Any tips appreciated! Thanks

AdrianC

Your partner owns another property.
You are buying this one jointly with him.

How does that fit with the pair of you being "first time" property owners?

And, yes, he's going from owning one property to owning two - hence the +3%. Assuming the property is more than £40k-worth.

Yes, if you buy on your own, then he is disregarded. Can you afford the mortgage without his income being taken into account?

Harslo

Thanks for your reply. Yes just about but as I say it'll be tight and we're very limited on how much we can spend!

What I meant was, his situation is not that different than many young people in the UK whose parents are property owners, and their children are considered first time buyers when they go on to buy their own house. The only difference is that his name is on it, along with his mum (still living there) and siblings. I understand the reasons for the rules, but it's pretty hard to feel like anything other than a first time buyer when it's really his mum's property and we're trying to take our first steps!