FTB: Purchase small cheaper flat OR a large Shared Ownership

aadisa

Hello,

I'm new here so please excuse me if I'm breaking any rules.

We're first time buyers looking to settle down and own a small flat. My question is this - for our budget we have 2 options

1. buy a smaller 1 bed, cash buy flat in a remote/non-central location
2. buy a larger 2-3 bed flat with 25% shared ownership in a central location

Both options cost the same, with the exception of monthly rent on the shared ownership. We are planning to potentially move overseas in a couple of years and rent out/sell the property we currently live in. My apprehension is not being able to sell the cash buy flat quickly due to it being unmortgageable. On the other hand, we won't be able to rent out the shared ownership property.

Do you think we should go for the smaller cash buy option vs the 25% shared ownership?

AnotherJoe

I think the trick for option 2 is in the wording, "buying" a flat where actually you are only buying 1/4 of it and paying rent on top.doesn't qualify as buying in my book.
im not sure why either option is a good idea if you plan to sell again in just 2 years time. How do the monthly costs compare to renting? Add all other incidental purchase costs in as well to make ita fair comparison. 

As to letting out the flat, have you seen the stories in here of bad tenants? Letting is a High risk option with most likely a very limited income. Much more complex and costly when you are overseas.  

aadisa

AnotherJoe said:

I think the trick for option 2 is in the wording, "buying" a flat where actually you are only buying 1/4 of it and paying rent on top.doesn't qualify as buying in my book.
im not sure why either option is a good idea if you plan to sell again in just 2 years time. How do the monthly costs compare to renting? Add all other incidental purchase costs in as well to make ita fair comparison. 

As to letting out the flat, have you seen the stories in here of bad tenants? Letting is a High risk option with most likely a very limited income. Much more complex and costly when you are overseas.  

Appreciate your advice. Our move is uncertain and if we move overseas it will only be for a few years. So I guess buying makes sense for us. I'll read up on the tenant stories.

On a separate note, do you have any advice on buying in a high-rise vs a small building with 2-3 floors?

Thank you

theoretica

Do you have a specific unmortgageable flat in mind?  Look out in case what is making it unmortgageable - and cheaper- means future bills for the owner to improve it to mortgageable standard.