Shared ownership

Dockydooda · 2023-04-16T09:22:56+00:00

Good morning all! I was wondering if anyone else has experience of a similar situation, I split with my husband a few yrs ago and remained living in jointly owned home, with mort rates going up and him not contributing to mort I may need to sell, I would have £180,000 ish equity but not enough to buy even a studio flat, I don’t earn enough for a mort of any significance either. I’m considering buying a 50% share of a house and I’ve read UC would pay part of the rent on the other half…. does anyone know how they calculate affordability for the rent half, I would have wages of £10,000 and I’m on UC, thank you in advance for any replies!

therealmrsjolly · 11/09/2023 12:09

Hi Dockydooda,
I'm in a similar situation and thinking the same - did you manage to find anything out?

Original poster

Dockydooda · 01/10/2023 09:40

Hiya! Sorry for late reply!
not at mo, stuck between a rock and a hard place, can’t even get a one bed flat with my equity and still not sure about shared ownership,
hope you have some suitable options, best wishes!

OP posts:

20questions · 01/10/2023 12:16

Be very careful with Shared Ownership and do lots of research. SO may have worked better in the past but now it is a whole different beast...
Remember you are responsible for 100% costs of maintenance even if you only own 25%. Service charges can be very high and increase rapidly from year to year with very little ability to challenge..
There are many hidden costs involved in SO.

Original poster

Dockydooda · 01/10/2023 15:19

Thanks so much for your help!

OP posts:

NoWordForFluffy · 01/10/2023 15:42

20questions · 01/10/2023 12:16

Be very careful with Shared Ownership and do lots of research. SO may have worked better in the past but now it is a whole different beast...
Remember you are responsible for 100% costs of maintenance even if you only own 25%. Service charges can be very high and increase rapidly from year to year with very little ability to challenge..
There are many hidden costs involved in SO.

The old model is actually worse than new SO houses, actually. Proper length leases, and other charges very limited in ability to increase rapidly etc.

20questions · 01/10/2023 15:54

I'm talking about when SO first started - in the early years it often did work out as "getting a foot on the property ladder" and making a profit when moving on.
Now many are selling at a loss - that's if they are even able to sell! - and the list of onerous (often hidden) charges can be outrageous. Many developers get huge subsidies from the government, build substandard housing, roads/estates not adopted by the council as not built to standard resulting in high estate charges as owners have to pay to maintain the roads, green areas, children's play areas etc as well as paying council tax.
May work for some no doubt but imperative to thoroughly research the reality..

NoWordForFluffy · 01/10/2023 15:58

20questions · 01/10/2023 15:54

I'm talking about when SO first started - in the early years it often did work out as "getting a foot on the property ladder" and making a profit when moving on.
Now many are selling at a loss - that's if they are even able to sell! - and the list of onerous (often hidden) charges can be outrageous. Many developers get huge subsidies from the government, build substandard housing, roads/estates not adopted by the council as not built to standard resulting in high estate charges as owners have to pay to maintain the roads, green areas, children's play areas etc as well as paying council tax.
May work for some no doubt but imperative to thoroughly research the reality..

You mean in the 'good old' days of 99 year leases with no mechanism to extend? As opposed to the new 990 year lease model?

Also, they don't build full estates of SO housing, so if they're substandard, even the people who aren't in affordable housing are suffering!

usertaken · 01/10/2023 16:33

Move somewhere cheaper?

Yes, some areas of London £180k will not get you anything at all.

Nevertheless there will be some areas of London that £180k might even get a 1-bed. Stuff with asking prices of £200k that have been up for a while will also start trickling downwards as well.

Of course this isn't going to be the nicer bits, but there seems a weird attitude among posters that if they wouldn't live there then neither should anyone else.

20questions · 01/10/2023 16:34

Not sure why you are just focusing on one small area of the whole SO picture? Yes - thanks to lobbying and highlighting just one of the devious terms within the highly complex leases, onerous ground rent terms on houses has been banned and lease length greatly increased. (Note - this is for houses, not flats). However there are so many other issues/unregulated costs etc.
No - the good old days refers to when the scheme first started..before developers/freeholders/managing agents became clever and saw how much owners could be milked and their assets sweated.
That's why you are often advised or persuaded to use one of their panel solicitors as your lease/obligations will not be fully explained to you at the time.
Not here for an argument- only to advise to research very carefully indeed so you are aware of all the pitfalls, future costs, conditions and obligations going forward. Oh..and use your own, independent (very qualified in this area) solicitor. Not one of the developers "recommended" ones. Really important..

NoWordForFluffy · 01/10/2023 16:54

That one 'small' area is MASSIVE. And is what makes the older scheme ones unsellable. Yet you're claiming the older ones are better. So excuse me if I think you really don't know much about this area!

NoWordForFluffy · 01/10/2023 16:56

And your solicitor has a duty of care to you as your solicitor. They'd only not advise you properly if they wanted to store up potential negligence claims for the future.

20questions · 01/10/2023 23:35

Unfortunately your responses actually show how little you know.
Regarding your observation about the "recommended" solicitors, many have been/are being sued and some of the solicitors involved promptly closed their business down when the heat started to burn.

Anyway - just to re-iterate I`m sure SO has worked for lots but equally many others wish they had never got involved with SO. Do your research carefully.

RedToothBrush · 01/10/2023 23:45

Every shared ownership scheme is different. Get a specialist solicitor with experience in shared ownership and get them to check the details before buying.

They work for some people but not all. I'd stay away in an area where houseprices are likely to fall in the near future.