house hunting - was shared ownership questions

We've looked at the house that is under the shared ownership scheme, and filled out the application, crossing our fingers we get approved. Im just curious what the procedure is, and how long the process generally takes? Has anyone here done this and can tell me how it all works?

I know we need to be first time buyers, in need of a home, and cant afford a full mortgage, which we fit all the criteria, I just dont know how it all is done.

I'm personally not a fan of this type of scheme. I guess it's a 'step' in the right direction for some but overall I feel it's almost a kick in the teeth when you live there, own 'part' of it and still have to pay rent on the deferred amount! As soon as I read that I lost interest!

Now then, I'm tired as I wirite this so maybe I'm thinking of something different. The ones I saw were where a flat costs say £200K and you take a mortgage out on £100K of it. Then the other £100K worth you pay rent on. is that the same scheme?

If of course, this way is the only way for you to 'own' then make sure your find out as much as you can about it. My concern is what happens if you default on the 'rent' payment part of the deal? and how much 'rent' do you have to pay?

Maybe I'll look into this kinda scheme a bt further sometime and 'pretend' im very interested to the Estate Agent so as I can get as much info as possible..

Maybe other posters know more about the specifics - see what other responses you get are like!

cheers!
Dennis! West London & Slough UK!

From what Ive been told, we get a mortgage for half the value of the house, and pay rent at 2% a year on the remainder. We can buy 10% more each year, until we own the house outright.

We werent sure about it at first either, but with rentals where we are looking either nonexistant or extremely high (ie closer to bath, really high rent, further out, nothing to rent!) and the homes in the area are too much for us to buy in an open market.

Im glad you brought up what happens if the rent isnt paid, its a good question, although I dont plan on not paying the rent obviously My fiance has a very secure job, so we arent worried about him losing it...but its good to know all of it up front.


Our only problem now is, the housing association is claiming its not their property, that they have no idea who it belongs to, its not a shared ownership etc..so I called back the people that showed us the house yesterday, hes supposed to call me back after he talks with them. Its a bit frustrating, as we are really interested in this house, and dont really feel like playing games while people figure out who it belongs to.

There was one other person whos gone to see the house, so I was told they will go through any applications they receive regarding this house, and then see who is most qualified for the house, and likely go through an interview.

Hopefully we will be the ones found most in need of this house...we have my son and one coming, I really dont want to be living with my fiances parents any longer than necessary, and I definitely dont want to be here when the baby is born We can afford this house, but others weve seen in shared ownership which were mostly built new, are too expensive. The ones we could have afforded have already been sold off.

Needless to say I am a little down about the prospects, nothing ever seems to work in our favor, so I wont expect this to either. Would be wonderful, but Im not counting on it.

the housing association have admitted it IS their property, its a one-off thing, since its not a new build. On the down side, they are taking applications until the end of the month...roll on june!! Lets hope theres no one else interested in the property, or people that dont need it as much as we do.

Im not sure if we should keep looking, the only other properties as I said are more expensive, about 10k or more over what we could get a mortgage for, which may seem like a small amount, but its really not when theres not a lot of leeway

the housing association have admitted it IS their property, its a one-off thing, since its not a new build. On the down side, they are taking applications until the end of the month...roll on june!! Lets hope theres no one else interested in the property, or people that dont need it as much as we do.

Im not sure if we should keep looking, the only other properties as I said are more expensive, about 10k or more over what we could get a mortgage for, which may seem like a small amount, but its really not when theres not a lot of leeway

in your area, i would say keep looking, at the very least entertain all options.  housing is VERY expensive there, there are many families in need of this sort of housing and also this is the time of year when a lot of people are looking to move as the weather warms up, so i'd assume there will be interest in the property.

*edited to add, IIRC (please correct me if I'm wrong), your son is only visiting, not planning to live w/you full time?  It might be helpful to check w/the association to see where you need to note this on your application, just to cross all the i's and dot all the t's.

Read the terms and conditions well before signing for shared ownership.

Most housing associations put different clauses in there. In most cases you will noit be able to sell at open market value when you decide to move on  eg The association will get its on valuers who will give their price. You cannot go on the open market ie estate agents to get the value and sell it on open market. Secondly you will not be able to sell it to whoever you like, there maybe closes like you can only sell to people on the waiting list for the association or if its a 3 bed house you can only sell it to a family with at least 2kids.

So my advise is, before signing the dotted line, make sure your solicitor expains it in detail. the associations dont want it to be a way of people making money or a profit out of it. they want the properties to continue to benefit people who cannot afford to get on the ladder. ask yourself the main reason why you want to buy and weigh the odds up.

Well, we heard about the house. We wont be considered for shared ownership because we dont live there, dont have family there, and they dont consider dfs job to be in their area

However we have been looking diligently for a house to rent instead, since there are no affordable houses in the area where wed have to go to be considered for shared ownership, and I just found a house that sounds good, gonna call the estate agent momentarily...crossing our fingers that something finally works out! There are plenty of other places to go see as well if this one doesnt work out, they are all further out than we had been looking before but thats ok with me, I dont mind a short drive, Im used to it having lived in the boondocks all my life anyway

Good luck Aeonix. I hope this one works for you!

I thought Id just modify the topic name instead of creating a whole new thread...hope no one minds!

We saw three houses yesterday, we were to see a fourth but the agent never showed up, never called, office was closed, so after waiting 1/2 hour for them to show up we left.

We saw one house we really didnt like, it was sooo tiny and no cheaper than the others, and while there was a conservatory they had a raised patio and absolutely not one blade of grass in the 'garden'.

We saw a 3 bedroom that isnt perfect, and the garden sort of worries us, it has a dropoff to a lower section, Im afraid my son may start running and in his enthusiasm not stop, and fall off. Although Im thinking at 5 he might have self-preservation, and for all I know hed do great in the garden. Id not let him out there unsurpervised though.

There were 3 single men and us looking at that particular house, so we should know monday if we are/are not the ones the landlord has chosen. I have to say though the estate agent wanted nothign to do with me, she was fawning all over the three men, and kept looking at my fiance any time she spoke with us, which was very little, she was so busy talking to the guys     We did manage to get her to call up about getting the landlords over to a 2 bed house we had wanted to see before, and couldnt get there in time due to traffic problems, and horrid weather. It is literally about 4 houses down, and was the one with the strange parking setup.

Turns out the two-bedroom was the best of all of them. Its getting redecorated throughout, the garden while narrow is safe, with lots of grass, an arbor, a shed, and the patio area has an awning over it. Not to mention there is a huge field with a walking path around it just on the other side of the garden, we can get to it by going up a little slope behind the fence. The parking does worry us, but the parking spaces we get are right next to the house, at the back, so we could just not use the front door as an entrance for us, we can go out the back, and there are only I think 3 other houses that park there.

And the 2 bed has big rooms, lots of built-in cupboards with the master, was in the best condition of all the houses we saw, so we are putting in for it monday morning. We have to call the letting agent, instead of going directly through the landlord, and they were closed when wed decided we wanted the 2 bed. And! The 2 bed says pets are negotiable

I never thought Id like a 2 bedroom as much as I like this one. Its not perfect, ie space will become an issue before long, but for now it would work out great, if we arent chosen for the 3 bedroom.

If neither of them work, we have one more on wednesday. Im really hoping we get one of those two, and with the 2 bedroom as an option, if we dont get the 3 bedroom we both feel we arent losing out.

Only problem is, one guy wanting the 3 bedroom knows the landlords of the 2 bedroom personally, if he doesnt get the 3 bd and neither do we, we could lose out on the 2 bd just because he knows them. Id hope not, the woman (its a husband and wife that own the place and we met the wife) seemed really interested in us moving in.

So after writing a huge novel about all of this, it looks like we are FINALLY getting somewhere! I hope!!!

Only downside is neither place is furnished, not even the white goods, so we will have to get all of that. df has always rented furnished places, so while we have some very basic things, we dont have beds or any actual furniture aside from a chair But this allows us to find things we prefer to have, and when we move on we take them with us.

Were off to currys to get ideas on appliances in the hopes that we will be needing them very soon (move in date is anytime after the 29th).