With a shared equity scheme you own all of the property, albeit you have a loan on a part of your deposit – whereas with a shared ownership scheme you only own a portion of your home with the chance to buy back more from the housing association when you can. You can read more about shared ownership schemes here.
What are the downsides to shared ownership? Hopefully the monthly mortgage repayments, plus rent will still make shared ownership far cheaper than buying a property outright. … Be aware that even though you own a share of the property, say 30%, you are responsible for paying the full maintenance and repair costs.
What are the disadvantages of Shared Ownership? Because Shared Ownership properties are always leasehold, ground rent may apply and you must pay this in full no matter what size share of the property you own. … There could be restrictions on what alterations you can carry out on the property.
However, the experts have stated that shared ownership is still a good decision in 2021. Ms Mitchell added: “Shared ownership is a great way for first time buyers to get onto the property ladder and a way of taking the steps to own your first home without the need for a hefty deposit upfront.
If you are looking to purchase a Shared Ownership property in England, the maximum household income is £80,000. In London, your annual household income must be less than £90,000. … This means if you are buying with a partner, the household income would include both of your salaries and any other income you receive.
And according to Ms Nettleton, selling a shared ownership property isn’t as hard as people have been led to believe. … “Normally, there is a nomination period where the home is offered to other shared ownership buyers first, but, if one can’t be found it can then be sold on the open market.”
Shared ownership properties are always leasehold, meaning you only own a property for a fixed period of time. … Because you own a share of the property, the housing association cannot evict you. They cannot evict you for non-payment of occupancy payments in the same way as a landlord can evict a tenant.
How can I buy 100% of Shared Ownership property? You can gain full ownership of your Shared Ownership property through a process called ‘staircasing‘. Once you’ve bought your initial stake in your home you can staircase to 100% Ownership in batches of 10% or larger.
The shared ownership scheme is open only to first-time buyers, or to those who used to own a home but can’t afford one anymore.
No. You don’t have to staircase and increase your shares if you don’t want to. In 2018 a study by housing association Aster found that only 10% of those in shared ownership chose to staircase. Many find the hassle and financial costs of doing so outweigh the benefits.
For all shared ownership homes, the net rent increases each year by the Retail Price Index inflation rate plus an uplift of typically between 0.5% and 2%. This rent increase is explained in your lease.
If you buy off plan and the market drops, you can’t re-negotiate the price; you’ll still need to pay the higher amount. 9. Rents can go up quite regularly – even every year, so be sure that you can continue to afford the property.
L&Q housing association last year sold 66 per cent of resale homes on to other shared owners within its eight-week exclusivity period. The average resale took just 36 days. It sold another 18 per cent after the eight weeks were up.
This new model of the part-buy part-scheme will be implemented on all new build Shared Ownership homes delivered through the Affordable Homes Programme from April 2021, running for five years up to 2026.
You are free to decorate your Shared Ownership property as you wish, however, the housing association will not contribute to decorative improvements.