Shared ownership. Is it worth the hassle?

[Toddlerteaplease]

50/% share abs you can staircase up to 100%. But it all seems a bit complicated. And I'd be worried about the monthly rent increase. Is it worth the hassle and the uncertainty?

I'd say it's worth it if you can't afford to buy otherwise; it would be better to get an SO property and hopefully sell your share and buy a freehold home later (whether that's 2 years or 25 years later).
For us, we were told we had to buy the biggest share we could afford which was 70% on a two bed. We didn't actually need the second bedroom, there was no parking in the development and were also worried about the premium pricing on a new build when we didn't mind a place that needed some TLC.
We were able to buy a one bedroom flat (with a 50% share of the freehold), get a residents parking permit for the road to park, and add a little value by replacing the boiler, doing some decorating and tidying up the garden (Crossrail added the rest ).
If I'd have been buying without DP, as I originally planned, I would have happily bought an SO one bedroom as I would never have been able to get a big enough mortgage for a one bedroom flat on my own. It would have safeguarded me against rapidly rising rents in our area, and given me a first step on the ladder.

Nope. The way the property market has been going, after 'shared ownership' there will be new coffin-sized flat ownership schemes (Tokyo style).

It's definitely worth it if you can't afford to buy outright and you want to live somewhere long term, as being new builds they take a while to increase in value so not good for a short term option.

If you want to resell it can be a bit hit and miss. I had a SO flat 10 years ago and it resold quite quickly.
Now I'm in a SO house but there are still a number of brand new empty ones for sale on the development so think it would take a while to sell mine if I wanted to (or would have to really drop the price to compete).

However it's not an issue as i have no plans to move and could easily be here another 10 years plus. With having a toddler it's definitely the best option for us, more security and not wasting as much money as renting, slowly putting equity in to the house as the mortgage is repaid.

It's nice to be able to decorate, spend money in the garden without it feeling like a waste too. I wouldn't bother with renting and it would always feel like someone else's house. This is definitely our home.

For me yes. My SO mortgage and rent is £300 a month less than if I rented a similar flat in the same area. In fact my rent is such a good deal it’s not worth me staircasing.
However, I live in a ‘trendy’ city centre where I don’t think I’d have any trouble selling. I know someone who lived more rurally and had his share on the market for 3 years with no interest. Choose somewhere you think is desirable for young single people.

We did it. Lived in a shared ownership for 7 years. Had enough equity after the 7 years to sell the house and use the equity to buy a freehold house. However we bought a second hand shared ownership (that had already had the depreciation from being a new build) and we bought when the market was poor, so we did well over the house prices rising over 7 years. I'd be wary of buying a new build shared ownership as they are over-priced, so you may well lose money on them.

Bear in mind with any shared ownership you will pay rent but you will still 100% responsible for any maintenance costs. Also selling it had to be done via the housing association and it took nearly a year, and was probably one of the most frustrating processes I've ever gone through and the housing association (Home Group) were awful.

I'm just selling my shared ownership to move out of area so I can buy outright. Financially it has worked out really well for me. But it has encouraged me to settle in a part of London I can't really afford to stay in long term.

best thing ever,
purchased 50% almost 16 years.
purchased the remaining 50% last month,very straight forward.

beware of purchasing of flat with a lift,go for a house, as the service charge can be steep,ours is £95 p/m.
the rent bit(50%) still affordable with a small increase every year around £300 p/m.(central London, zone 2)

Thanks. I saw the house, it was Lovely but the area wasn't great. The combined mortgage and rent was far more than my top budget for a mortgage. Had it been in the area I currently rent
, I'd have grabbed it with both hands as I couldn't afford a house like that where I Am now. The company it's rented from was also less than helpful about prices of more shares.