Help! To stay or to go?

SMB871

Currently in a shared ownership house at 45% share, bought in 2022 in the Covid price hike.

The plan was always to move on, as with most SO properties, but house prices have dropped back and I wonder if it’s worth the loss?

Currently the same houses are selling for 240k at full value and I bought this at 260k full value. So that’s just under 10k loss for me, and the houses are moving slowwwwwly off the market.

Im 33 and want to get properly settled and have a mortgage paid off when I retire.

Which option would you choose?

1. Take the loss and sell as the plan is to move eventually regardless. Absorb the loss in equity and moving costs for the benefit of staying in the next property long term
2. Stay in current property and buy a larger share at the current house prices. Still have to pay solicitor fees etc.
3. Stay in current house for a few more years and don’t buy anymore share. Save money for moving properly.

Albermarle

Currently the same houses are selling for 240k at full value and I bought this at 260k full value. So that’s just under 10k loss for me, and the houses are moving slowwwwwly off the market.

Houses are currently moving slowly, but since 2022 most regions have seen price increases since 2022. Especially for houses rather than flats. Where are you ( approx) ? Was it a new build?

sammyjammy

Other than the shared ownership are you happy in this house? Could it be your forever home?

Jemma01

Not sure how SO work, but assuming you can buy the full house on a mortgage, why not do that and then when it is time to move you can sell it and get the 240/260 back?

Your age doesn't really matter so much here, as long as you have enough equity to bring in to the new home, you can still own it fully by the time you retire, even if you bought it at 50yrs old. Ppl move homes all the time, planning to settle at 33 is ambitious. Most ppl only really settle at later stages in life. You buy, build equity, and sell.

What made this property a temporary one?

fritzie-65

I had a shared ownership flat in the 90s and when I came to sell up and move on I had to pay for an specialist in shared ownership to value the property at the insistance of the housing association plus pay for the morgage provider report.

In the end with convencing etc.I just came out with £1,000 which was my original deposit later the market picked up within 5 years and had I held on I would have come out with ca £ 25 000 but at the time of my sale I had to sell.

SMB871

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82143513#Comment_82143513

NR14, Norfolk.

Others may have gone up but mine certainly hasn’t! It is a 2018 property I believe.

stripling

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6684005/help-to-stay-or-to-go

Certainly don't buy any more shares. My understanding is it's often harder to sell with a bigger share value because shared ownership is a way in for people who are short of big deposits.

Number 3 looks like the most sensible if you can stay and get your ducks in a row.

What is a possibility is that when you are ready to move on properly you buy a 100% and sell at the same time - simultaneous sale and staircasing.

There's lots of good information if you are discerning about what you read. There's quite a good YouTube channel (forgot the name) plus things like Shared Ownership Resources - a campaigning organisation for fair treatment of shared ownership owners.

Albermarle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82144275#Comment_82144275

According to Nationwide index, house prices in East Anglia have gone down by 5% in the last 4 years. Maybe if you take into account this is based on data that is a few months out of date and the market has declined a bit recently then your £20K off is probably about right.

HouseHuntingAmy

A couple of things worth separating. The £10k "loss" only becomes real if you sell - on paper it is just the market moving. And staircasing is priced off the current value, not what you paid, so the drop is actually working in your favour for buying a bigger share: the 55% you do not own just got cheaper. The comparison I would run is the rent you pay on the unsold share each year (check your lease - SO rent usually ratchets up with inflation annually) against what the mortgage on staircasing now would cost. If the house could genuinely be home for 5+ years, staircasing at the lower valuation often makes more sence than selling low and paying moving costs on top. If it was only ever a stepping stone, the question is really "what does it cost me to leave" vs "what does the rent on the rest cost me to stay".