UK house prices

Can’t afford to buy a home? What about Shared ownership?

If you are thinking about buying a home, the first thing you need to do is to put together enough money for a deposit – typically 10% of the selling price and them be able to demonstrate that you can pay your mortgage.

Easier said than done; it may take many years of savings to come up with enough money for a deposit…and as property prices continue to raise the chances to borrow the amount you need may get slimmer and slimmer.

Here is an idea: What about Shared ownership?

Shared ownership schemes are a cross between buying and renting and are aimed mainly at first-time buyers who don’t earn enough to buy a home outright.

If that’s your case and depending on your household income, you may be eligible to buy a share (between 25 and 75%) of a property from a housing association and then rent the part you don’t own at a reduced rate.

You will have the option to buy a bigger share of the property at a later date (staircasing).

All shared ownership homes are offered on a leasehold only basis, meaning you will own the lease on them for a fixed period of time, typically 99 years.

You also have to pay a service charge for the property, which is usually charged on a monthly basis.

Most of the homes available are newly built, and some are properties being re-sold.

Buyers will need to pay a 10% deposit as well as stamp duty and other fees.

You’ll also need to find a mortgage lender that is willing to lend on shared ownership properties

Although you own only a share of the property you still have to pay all of the maintenance costs.

Depending on your country there may be different schemes with different rules. The best is to find out what scheme is available for your area and how does it work.

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