subject: What is shared ownership housing? [print this page] If you're a first time buyer looking to get a foot on the property ladder you will no doubt understand how difficult this can be. Saving for 10 25% deposits can be incredibly difficult, especially for if you're on an average salary and find it realistically impossible to save such large a deposit.
Currently shared ownership is the main affordable housing scheme and a great way into home ownership. If you find yourself in a position where you can't afford to buy a property outright, then part buy and part renting your home may be the answer.
With many of these schemes you can buy a 25%, 50% or even 75% share in your home. Then you pay a rent on the share that you don't buy, so for example if you bought 75% share of a home you would pay a rent on the remaining 25% share, which is normally set to an affordable rate of around 3%. The larger the share of the property you purchase, the less rent you would have to pay. The great thing about these schemes is that when you can afford to do so, you can buy more shares until eventually you own the whole property outright, this process is commonly know as staircasing. The share of the property that you pay rent on is usually owned by a housing association.
Who can buy shared ownership housing?
Shared ownership housing schemes are generally aimed at people who cannot afford to buy a suitable property outright. However, the criteria can vary considerably with many schemes, some being restricted to first time buyers only and others will be offered to applicants living in a certain borough.
If you are interested in finding out more about shared ownership housing schemes, apply to your local housing association or authority that offers shared ownership housing in your particular area.
