Shared ownership of a property; advice please.
Discussion
So, our youngest son has an opportunity to move to a new job on the outskirts of South London near Sidcup.
We have looked at rental properties and it seems to be a minefield with what is included and what isn't and also the cost per month which in some cases is pretty eye watering for what you are getting for your money.
Taking all this into account, he was thinking of looking into the Shared Ownership market to actually get his foot on the property ladder.
The deposit wouldn't be a problem but we were just wondering if there was anybody on here who has gone down this path and could share their experiences both good and bad.
Any help or guidance would be much appreciated.
Cheers
Andrew
We have looked at rental properties and it seems to be a minefield with what is included and what isn't and also the cost per month which in some cases is pretty eye watering for what you are getting for your money.
Taking all this into account, he was thinking of looking into the Shared Ownership market to actually get his foot on the property ladder.
The deposit wouldn't be a problem but we were just wondering if there was anybody on here who has gone down this path and could share their experiences both good and bad.
Any help or guidance would be much appreciated.
Cheers
Andrew
I haven’t personally bought a house share property before but from what I can see it’s not worth it if you intend to eventually buy out the spared segment of the property. Because the shared segment valve goes up with the properties overall valves, the amount required is always going up and becoming more unlikely to own. The only hope is that there is a housing price crashes, he can buy a bigger share of the property and stays long enough in it for the price to bounce back.
I could be wrong on this so wait for others to correct me, your son is paying out all of the fees for monthly flat maintenance as well and not just his share.
I would always look at it as your son would stump up 100% of the money to carry out maintenance work (new kitchen, bathroom…etc) but would only get the share of the profits of property valve come sales time.
From having own a freehold flat for 10 years and dealing with a load of issues , I now always say to people not to buy freehold properties if they can (I know easier said than done).
I could be wrong on this so wait for others to correct me, your son is paying out all of the fees for monthly flat maintenance as well and not just his share.
I would always look at it as your son would stump up 100% of the money to carry out maintenance work (new kitchen, bathroom…etc) but would only get the share of the profits of property valve come sales time.
From having own a freehold flat for 10 years and dealing with a load of issues , I now always say to people not to buy freehold properties if they can (I know easier said than done).
Shared ownership seems like a good idea on paper but people I know who have been part of schemes and then tried to sell up have found it an absolute nightmare. The pool of potential buyers is a lot lot smaller and you're on the hook for rent as well as your mortgage payments.
My old boss lived in a newbuild shared ownership property and had to market it with a specific agent (not on Rightmove either) for a good few months before it could go out on the open market. Even then it took about a year to sell and there were all sorts of additional fees to pay.
My old boss lived in a newbuild shared ownership property and had to market it with a specific agent (not on Rightmove either) for a good few months before it could go out on the open market. Even then it took about a year to sell and there were all sorts of additional fees to pay.
My brother did this, but back in maybe 2010.
They had an 50/50 owner/housing association split initially on a brand new house. After 3 years when the mortgage came up and their jobs had improved they upped to 70/30, and again upped to 80/20 when that mortgage came up. After 7 years they sold up an emigrated.
There was a queue of buyers - it was a good location and house, many folk realising that shared ownership works well if you are young folk with an expectation of increasing income, but need lower deposit and loan initially.
They had an 50/50 owner/housing association split initially on a brand new house. After 3 years when the mortgage came up and their jobs had improved they upped to 70/30, and again upped to 80/20 when that mortgage came up. After 7 years they sold up an emigrated.
There was a queue of buyers - it was a good location and house, many folk realising that shared ownership works well if you are young folk with an expectation of increasing income, but need lower deposit and loan initially.
I currently own a shared ownership flat which I´m in the process of selling.
Overall the experience has been good for me.
The housing association do have some rules though, mine states things such as no pets, no wooden flooring etc. They also had to approve my mortgage when my fixed rate ended, I wanted to move to a different lender to secure a lower interest rate, Thankfully it was approved but I was a bit surprised they had any say in it.
The selling process is taking long, although I believe this is more to do with the buyers solicitors. The housing association had to be used for the first 8 weeks I believe, after that I could market it however I wanted. I stuck with them though as total cost was 1% of full market value which seemed reasonable to me. It was also listed on all the main property sites such as Rightmove etc.
It still shows on Rightmove, Listed in August 2024, Buyer found in March 2025, now just waiting for exchange.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/151679693#/...
Overall the experience has been good for me.
The housing association do have some rules though, mine states things such as no pets, no wooden flooring etc. They also had to approve my mortgage when my fixed rate ended, I wanted to move to a different lender to secure a lower interest rate, Thankfully it was approved but I was a bit surprised they had any say in it.
The selling process is taking long, although I believe this is more to do with the buyers solicitors. The housing association had to be used for the first 8 weeks I believe, after that I could market it however I wanted. I stuck with them though as total cost was 1% of full market value which seemed reasonable to me. It was also listed on all the main property sites such as Rightmove etc.
It still shows on Rightmove, Listed in August 2024, Buyer found in March 2025, now just waiting for exchange.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/151679693#/...
NortonES2 said:
mattvanders said:
From having own a freehold flat for 10 years and dealing with a load of issues , I now always say to people not to buy freehold properties if they can (I know easier said than done).
Do you mean leasehold? Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff