Making Offer for a Shared Ownership Scheme

SerenaGoode

gabyjane wrote: »

...and if we had bought this house even 2 years ago we would have paid off over £20k,...

Not sure of the maths there - I've been paying a pretty big mortgage for two years and most of it has gone on interest, only about £7K on repayments.

But I'm just being pedantic.

chappers

OzzMosiz wrote: »

Shared Equity Schemes are disgusting. They benefit no one but the people selling them.
You pay for half or 3/4 of a house, but pay the full council tax and maintenance on them. If house prices go up, you end up further away from the next rung up. If prices go down, then bank tighten lending criteria anyway, so unless you have increased salary then you are stuffed, but then your 1/2 or 3/4 of the the shared home has dropped in price too.

Stay well away.

Sorry only just caught up with this one again.

The above is total rubbish, the same applies as to whether you own part of the property or all of it you are always at the whim of the housing market its not just a problem with SO.
You basically stay in the same position, regardless of what the market does.
If you buy the whole property you still have to pay all the relevant bills, so don't see what that has to do with it.
I agree SO isn't right for everyone, but it does have some benefits. It allows, as has already been said, secured accommodation without the need for renting and if you are in a situation with aprogressing career it allows you to buy in now and buy into the rest when your financial situation improves.Hopefully the improvement in your financial situation improves during a downturn in the housing market, in which case you will be better off than if you bought the whole property.

gabyjane

SerenaGoode wrote: »

Not sure of the maths there - I've been paying a pretty big mortgage for two years and most of it has gone on interest, only about £7K on repayments.

But I'm just being pedantic.

Sorry Serena no you are right obviously wasn't paying attention! just worked it out and it would be about £12k! (bit of a difference!) yes not all paid as such like you said i.e interest BUT not into my ex landlords pocket eah!!

enigmam

I have to admit I've only skimmed the thread, but just a couple of things to consider if you haven't already: What is the rent on the 60% you won't own? If the whole area is owned by a housing association for example, there will probably be a service charge each month, as well as council tax. See if you can find out how much the estimated service charge is. If it is a housing association, be prepared to be living with housing association tenants. A small minority of HA tenants (and I hope I'm not being rude but I work for a housing association) are not ideal neighbours. There are rules about any new developement has to have so much affordable housing e.g. HA or council tenants. See if your neighbours are other buyers or tenants. Some people care about this sort or thing, some don't

bombata

Hey,
I thought I should give you guys an update. I did not get the flat offered, I was only second choice. I am not too sad about it because all this discussion on this threat made me think. Paying high rent in London is depressing, maybe if I keep on saving I might afford a flat myself. Also I do not want to compromise and live outside zone 2 as I cycle everywhere.
Life was so much easier when I was at university ;-)

Generali

bombata wrote: »

Hey,
I thought I should give you guys an update. I did not get the flat offered, I was only second choice. I am not too sad about it because all this discussion on this threat made me think. Paying high rent in London is depressing, maybe if I keep on saving I might afford a flat myself. Also I do not want to compromise and live outside zone 2 as I cycle everywhere.
Life was so much easier when I was at university ;-)

I suspect that you've had a lucky escape.

My advice is to get your head down, work hard, improve your skills and your income can grow very quickly. If you're the very best at something then the money almost always follows.

And remember, thanks to the joys of compound interest, if you save a hundred quid a week for 40 years, you end up with a million quid!