scary grown up stuff

flybynight

ok i havce been considering this for a while and have decided i need to take the plunge and look at buying somewhere rather thna renting. the problem is i don't have a great credit rating, i am attemptging to do something about this and have payed off my credit cards and overdraft with a sensible rated loan, whoch has another 3 1/2 years left to pay off. i am looking at these new schemes where you buy 1/2 of the apartment / house and rentthe other 1/2, has anybody looked into these, as i have no idea what to do next as am a little lost. thank u

Voyager2002

Most commentators expect house prices to fall rather than rise. So time is on your side: pay off your loan, establish a better credit rating and save up a deposit. Then you will be in a strong position to buy the place you want.

flybynight

to be fair i was lookin at maybe in a year or sos time... was just wondering what the crakc was.
ta

unsure

My brother and his girlfriend have such a deal with a housing assocation property. His monthly payments cover rental plus a half share in the equity of the property. Should his finances improve he can increase his stake. It has meant that he and his girlfriend can afford somewhere to live in expensive London and also that they will benefit from the increased value of the property if and when the time comes to sell. They have a much nicer flat than they could have afforded to rent and they own a stake in it for the future. It works very well for them so far.
The only minus I'm aware of is that the housing association put a higher value on the property than my brother's surveyor; when he raised this, expecting to negotiate they said "take it or leave it"; so he may be paying out a bit more than a market valuation would suggest. I don't know if that is a general sitaution or if he was just unlucky. Either way, he has no doubt that it was basically a good deal allowing him to live where he wanted, in decent accomodation, at a price he could afford and getting a foothold (or half a foothold anyway!) on the property ladder--- all things they couldn't have done otherwise.