part buy part rent? yes or no?!

[Bubbless]

basically, me and DP are expecting DC1 in dec and currently are renting a 2 bed flat at 600pcm
ive looked into part buy part rent and we can afford to do it, as most of them the max payment is below what we are paying now
i think it would be good to get on the property ladder somehow..
however, is this as good as what i think it is or am i wearing rose tinted glasses?!
help / advice / 'ive done it and love it' / 'run as fast as you can'...

I would never ever ever consider it - too many horror stories around ....

I did this as was single and was a key worker. When you sell you have to pay ha solicitors fees and they have stupid rules as to who can buy. They also 'decide' how much you sell for, they choose the surveyor and in our block if you were selling the price was low but high if you were buying.

Only do it if there is no other way to get on ladder.

We've been living in ours for about a month, 50% share in a 2 bed house. Its the only way we could get on the ladder where we live, and cheaper than renting.
We had a decent deposit (20%) so the mortgage isn't too big and we didn't go for a new build as they are very overpriced, also you some of the rents are very high.
I think if you have a good sized deposit and find somwhere with reasonable rent its fine. Be aware that flats don't sell on easily, but houses get snapped up quick!

In my experience different areas have different schemes and rules. So I would first find out exactly what the schemes in your area entails.

I purchased my first home through a part buy scheme and the scheme I had was excellent. It was run by the council and not the housing association.

It was the only way I could afford to get on the property ladder and eventually was enable to buy the whole property.

When will people realise that there is no "ladder" anymore.

Run from this and don't give it a second thought. Houses are getting cheaper.

i think from what im hearing a lot of it depends how i go about it e.g. through the council or private / what we decide to part buy e.g. flat or house..

zhaghzhagh what do you mean there isnt a ladder anymore?!
im 20.. theres no way IN HELL id be appoved for a full mortgage.. thats why things like this were invented...?

The housing "ladder" in the old days meant ...
live with parents till you marry
buy a 1 bed flat on a 80% repayment mortgage
four years later
a three bed terrace on a 80% repayment mortgage
twenty years later
a four bed detatched with a big garden on a 10% repayment mortgage for a few years till its all paid off.

In recent years it has been
buy a shitty studio new build on a 110% interest only
sell to an even bigger mug after 2 years
buy a 2 bed terrace on 100 % still interest only, with no way of paying off the capital.
sell to a mug or offshore investor
buy a 4 bed new build shitthole on 90% interest only and pray for house price inflation to cover the fact that you've not repaid any capital so you can sell before the mortgage term and go rent like the proles.

Sorry. No sympathy.

I looked into these kind of schemes last year and there are a lot of pitfalls. You seem to get all the problems of ownership but none of the benefits of renting. E.g. you are responsible for repairs, can't get HB if circumstances change, have to stump up all the costs of ownership like your own appliances which you'd normally avoid through renting. But you don't quite get all the freedom of ownership - you can't freely sell on the open market and I've heard horror stories about trying to sell through the HA who make no real effort to market the property but you can't just go to a different agent. And if you need to sell before you've staircased to 100% it can be very difficult to find a buyer for the part-share. You usually can't rent it out either, which can trap people if you need to move elsewhere but can't manage to sell, or sub-let if you need a lodger to cover rent (which happened to a friend whose relationship broke down).

This is a Guardian article which covered a lot of the problems.

I decided not to go ahead with it, I am continuing to rent for the time being but my rent is very low as it's council and we avoid a lot of the problems with private rentals as well. I am not too bothered about the property ladder as the size of our home is fine and it's in a good area.

Remember to compare like with like- you say the mortgage is cheaper than your rent, but also factor in any lost interest on a deposit, and the fact that as an owner you will have responsibilities regarding maintenance that do not exist as a renter.

And, as others have pointed out, you are exposing yourself to house price fluctuations which may cost you dear.

Personally, I wouldn't go near any of these schemes as they are principaly designed to make it easier for people to get into large amounts of debt. Many will regret getting involved, as happened in the last crash.