London: Shared Ownership schemes

Background: I am a USC on SET(M) and my partner is a UKC.  We both work full time.  About a year ago we upped our saving each month, and are starting to see a nice amount of money in the bank.

We're considering buying a house, but with the places on our street selling for >£500,000, well, it's just unrealistic for us to ever get approved for that kind of mortgage. It looks like we could afford to buy something through a Shared Ownership scheme-- where we would own ~25-40% of the property and pay rent on the other ~75-60%.  I know to some, this looks like a bad idea, but in reality, the amount we currently pay on rent for a 1 bed flat is about the same as what it would cost for the mortgage+rent for a 2 bed flat in a similar area.

Anyway, from what I've seen about Shared Ownership is that there are minimum/maximum income requirements:

You are eligible if...

-You have a gross household income of no more than £71,000 per annum when eligible to purchase or rent a one or two bedroom home or no more than £85,000 per annum when eligible to purchase or rent a family sized home (three or more bedrooms).
-You are unable to purchase a suitable home to meet your housing needs on the open market.
-You do not already own a home or you will have sold your current home before you purchase or rent.

(source: https://www.sharetobuy.com/firststeps/amieligible)

Questions:
My first concern is that our combined gross income exceeds £71k (but individually, we're well within this limit...and well within the £85k limit too).
Second, I would want to avoid any US-tax complications/requirements, so prefer that the potential property be in his name only. 

I wonder if anyone here has experience with this.  Do you know if it's possible to put the property only in his name if I also plan to live there?  Is it possible to have one name on the flat, but two names on the mortgage? I'll have to look into mortgages more to determine if we'd be approved based on his income alone (depending on the value of the property)

I'm obviously only just starting to look into this to see if it's feasible, but any firsthand accounts would be helpful.  I won't be jumping into this anytime soon, but am starting to put out feelers and view properties.

Do you know if it's possible to put the property only in his name if I also plan to live there?  Is it possible to have one name on the flat, but two names on the mortgage? I'll have to look into mortgages more to determine if we'd be approved based on his income alone (depending on the value of the property)

Found this in the FAQs:

Can I take in a lodger to help with costs?

You need to be able to afford the costs of buying and sustaining the home yourself.

You will have a financial assessment carried out by an Independent Financial Advisor (IFA) prior to buying your home - the IFA will verify that the costs of home ownership are affordable for you.

Most shared ownership leases do not prohibit the leaseholder from taking in a paying guest or lodger.

This seems to suggest that if we can afford to buy using his income alone, then me living there as a "lodger" isn't an issue (obviously would need to read all the fine print).  I guess if we are unable to be approved for a mortgage using only his income that it becomes a problem? Or would the IFA be able to take my income into account as well? (though, this would put us over the maximum eligibility income...)

He can have the mortgage in his name only but your income will not count towards the mortgage.

Hi Pickled Sakura,

I'd suggest you get as much advice and knowledge as you can from various sources like a property specialist solicitor, mortgage broker, the shared ownership place etc to fully understand the scheme and assess if you can make a go of progressing with it. I'm sorry I don't have first hand experience of such a scheme but from a financial viewpoint, I'm not in favour of such 'schemes'. The reason being that I've spoken with people in the past who were in similar setups where things have gone pear shaped for one reason or another and it's just a big old mess afterwards. Granted, that's part of the risk and many people take it and aren't affected further down the line, only you as a couple can talk of and discuss potential scenario's and what you'd do if it happens taking into account all the information you get from the specialists I mention above etc.

Another aspect is that within the financial articles and viewpoints I read, more and more people are now being completely priced out of property ownership in and around London - it's gone beyond intensely insane right now and chances are plenty more people in the higher income tax bracket won't be able to purchase either, so I can see the 'attraction' of a shared ownership type setup..

Go in with your collective eyes wide open !

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!

I'd suggest you get as much advice and knowledge as you can from various sources like a property specialist solicitor, mortgage broker, the shared ownership place etc to fully understand the scheme and assess if you can make a go of progressing with it.

Thanks, DtM.  I certainly will look into all aspects of shared ownership before signing on the dotted line.  I am very detail oriented (and always read the fine print!), but 100% agree that I would want/need the involvement of a solicitor and mortgage broker on this, in addition to the property manager (and my Dad!!). 

I don't necessarily know the riqht questions to ask just yet either, but have found a few useful resources through my (employer-sponsored) independent financial advisors.