Shared-ownership eligibility

[watermelonmoonshine]

Hi everyone, first post on Mumsnet and hoping someone has experience to share…
I want to leave my marriage in the least disruptive way possible. I thought I could leave my husband and kids in the family home and move somewhere nearby where I could have the kids part-time. I have only recently returned to work after 14+ years as a SAHM (huge mistake!) and my salary is very low and not enough to rent (South East, desirable town). However, with my parents’ help with a deposit, I could manage the rent/mortgage combo of a shared-ownership flat.
Does anyone know if this would be possible in my circumstances? I would still own half of my family home (mortgage fully paid-off) but wouldn’t sell until the kids leave home in around 7 years’ time. My husband could not afford to buy me out and I don’t want to force a sale, but all full-ownership properties are vastly out-of-reach on my salary. TIA for any advice.

No I believe you would have to sell your share of the family home before you would become eligible. Generally you can't own another property. You could check directly with a housing association though.

Thanks for replying, starpatch. It seems that without blowing up everyone’s lives (even more) and forcing the sale of my kids’ home, I’m trapped for a few more years. I feel so stupid for becoming financially dependent to the point that I have lost all agency in my own life.

I am sorry OP

Could you instead stay in the family home and your husband live elsewhere? Is his income higher than yours, would he be able to afford to rent somewhere with enough space to have the children some of the time? If so you could perhaps stay in the family home and take over paying the mortgage (if your income is low you could also claim universal credit, that would help a bit).

I think there are lots of shared ownership schemes and they all have different conditions to meet.
Its definitely worth researching what schemes there are near you and in your price bracket and approaching them to see if you are eligible.

You might not be if you are already on a joint mortgage but you also might meet the needs basis based on your financial and relationship/ family circumstancs.