Shared ownership

[Choppychop]

Do people ever 💯 buy the properties? It’s certainly a good way to get on the property ladder but I feel like low earners will be stuck paying a mortgage plus rents that continue to rise each year, not to mention service charges that also rise . How do they save enough to buy out the mortgage.

It can go both ways. I'm stuck on my original share and it does feel like the worst of both worlds in many ways, although enabled me to live in a better home than the one I'd left. The rent increases are usually (?) capped I think - it's been my mortgage that's shot up over 8 years rather than the rent or service charges. But I have neighbours who've staircased to 100% mortgage - generally by meeting and moving in a new partner, which is a handy way to increase your income 😂 in a couple of cases they also started with a lodger, which I assume built up some considerable savings. Does require the buyer to be able to buy a home with space to spare in the first place, though.

I don't think anyone would recommend SO for those who can buy without it. For me, it's been a mixed bag, but the private rented sector locally is a mess too, so I'm not sure I'd have been any safer there.

Nobody I know has done it, but some people here have.

With a £60 k deposit and wanting to leave the current he’ll that is the private rental sector, I’m slightly tempted to get a SO two or three bed house in a good area instead of a two bed terrace in an average area with a mortgage, but I don’t want to pay service charges forever and probably won’t staircases to 100% on my one and low income. I’ve noticed that the SO properties are always overpriced, which will make getting to 100% difficult unless you have a huge deposit.

My partner bought the other half of his last year. He’s owned it for 10 years. I think it may only have been feasible though because he bought the other half of it it on a BTL and it doesn’t go off affordability, rather the rental income.

I know of a fair few who are stuck at 30/40% ownership with service and rent charges rising so high each year that it’s just not feasible to staircase. I have a very close friend however who with her partner has managed to 100% and rent out.i just don’t know if it’s a good idea if not?

My colleague bought his flat fully less than 10 years in. He’s the only person I know of in a shared ownership.

I looked into in it in detail and came to the conclusion that if you can stretch to a mortgage then do that instead. Too much hassle with the HA when it comes to selling, rents and service charges going up every year, service charges to pay forever, you’re responsible for the maintenance and there’s costs for every time you staircase. Sure the properties in general look amazing and you need a relatively low deposit but think if the bigger picture.

I started off on a 40% share and staircased to 100% in one step. The house price increased to the point I was able to use equity to buy the rest. House was built in 2020 and I staircased in 2023.

I guess the logic is if you bought in full you would save on the side to possibly move to the next place. That saving is what enables you to staircase in your case. But of course there will be various circumstances that might prevent both, especially if you are stretching yourself to buy.

I lived in one for 6 years, had a 30% share. Never managed to staircase to get any more - I think unless when you move in you have a plan of how to increase your income significantly you're right, you'll probably never staircase. For example, if you are in a job where you can gain qualifications and get paid a lot more a few years down the line then your income might increase to get you a bigger mortgage.

In my case we had the kind of jobs where we were just getting inflationary (or usually less!) pay rises each year. The rent and service charge kept going up and eventually it wasn't making sense for us to stay any more so we sold up.

The problem is if you staircase to say 50%+ then you might find your share is too expensive for anyone who meets the income criteria to afford. It's a conundrum.

I’m hoping to staircase up to 100% next year, I’ll have lived in the house ten years by then.

Shared ownership isn’t perfect but it was the only way I could have got on the property ladder as a single mother. I got a lovely home in a good area which would have been completely beyond my means to live in without the SO scheme.

Over the ten years I’ve also built up approx 50k in added value to the house.

We've just gone for, over 55 apartments, SO. We are surrounded by family houses and apartments for the general population, with the ground floor held for people with disabilities. In our area you don't pay rent oce you own 70%. Without the opportunity, my DP would be stuck in a house in poor repair and eventually having to live downstairs, with a view to moving into residential care. There are different schemes, but, here, SO is working well for everyone.