Shared Ownership

A question about : Shared Ownership

Hi All,

I have been on here a few times but I need your help to learn more about other people's experience with the shared ownership scheme (part buy part rent).

I do not have the best deposit for a property hence It appears I have to go via the Part buy part rent route.

Ideally looking to get a three or four bed house but it appears with a deposit of about Ј15k I would be looking at 2 bed flat under a shared ownership scheme as I am looking ideally in the following area:

- Kenley
- Coulsden
- Purley
- whyteleafe
- Caterham

Can any one share what the down sides are going via the shared ownership route (part buy part rent)?

I know you pay rent on the % you do not own plus service charges and you have the monthly montage payments.

Also what are the best web sites and agents to check for these properties in the above listed areas?

also is it position for me to apply for a mortgage on my own without my spouse then add her after wards as she is not working hence that may affect the application and reduce the amount I could possibly get?

After speaking to some financial expert it appears I could be entitled to about Ј175000 as mortgage on my own.

thank you in advise.
thanks

Best answers:

• www.sharetobuy.co.uk is the website you'd be looking for.
  I wouldn't rely too much on your financial expert about the loan amount as I highly doubt they're going to be factoring in rent and service charge into their lending calculations.
  Regarding your spouse, it all depends on the HA that manages the other share of the property. The HA's will allow her to be kept off the application if a reasonable reason, such as your wife doesn't have a job then they may permit you to continue in sole names.
• Yesterday, I had a client ask me why he couldn't have a mortgage of 4 x his Ј24,000 income for his shared ownership purchase as I was telling him Leeds BS (Ј22,237) and Halifax (Ј30,195) were a long way off what he wanted to borrow.
  I had to tell him his non-working spouse, two children and Ј200 per month shared ownership rent & service charges meant his Ј54,000 mortgage requirement was unaffordable.
  Then he asked about buying a smaller share and I had to explain that if the amount you are buying falls, the amount of rent you pay increases and that means your mortgage potential falls...
  The only way you can establish what you can borrow on shared ownership is have an experienced mortgage broker work it out for you, taking into account the things a "normal" mortgage wouldn't ask about.
  The number of times I've been told "the HTB Agent said I can buy a two bedroom house but you say I can't afford it" would make you wonder what they do for their Government contract.
• When buying shared ownership, and you staircase to 100%, can you then decide to buy the freehold? Is that even an option?
• If it's a house it will usually revert to freehold. If it's a flat then you can ask the Housing Association but they'll quite possibly decline.
• @catieeb06
  Thanks for sharing the website. I have checked and I am unable to see properties in the areas of choice. Does this mean all part buy part rent properties are listed on this site alone or would it be worthwhile contacting the housing associations directly?
  Would you know possible housing associations I can approach who have housing stock in the areas of interest?
  @kimbyanne
  I would be in the property with my wife and my daughter (2yrs old), Ideally I would be looking for at least 3 bed property.
  @kingstreet
  You are indeed right, the more family member and just one incomer earner, the challenging it becomes to get the mortgage one wants. But i believe one can still approach the lender to conduct a soft search on the applicant to determine what can be borrowed.
• You don't need a credit search to do affordability calculations.
  Lenders have affordability calculators for that very reason. As I said, the basic problem is many people don't know what to enter and where so the outputs are unreliable unless you are experienced in that particular lender's requirements.
• Hi i live in Coulsdon and were just buying our first flat now but whilst ive been looking i have seen quite a lot of part owned properties in this area quite a few in Kenley on rightmove and Zoopla might be worth having a look on there?
• @ kingstreet
  Thanks for clarifying.
  @ Lauraj1391
  Thanks I have also been searching Rightmove and Zoopla but getting very few results so I guess I have to get searching. I also registered on the sharetobuy.co.uk site so I have my fingers cross for the right property to get posted soon.