Renting or Shared ownership

Following - my friend done shared ownership but outside London 💀 I’ve heard horror stories with shared ownership so it also worries me about committing to x

My mum did shared ownership when I was a child. We went from a council house to shared ownership to her then buying a house fully. It was a great stepping stone that allowed her to get to that position, which she wouldn’t have got to without it. Biggest pro’s are that ur putting money into ur own property so will hopefully benefit from that down the line if the property either holds its value or goes up in value. U also have more freedom than in a rental so u can decorate or makes changes that want. U also have far more security, ur not at the mercy of a landlord who may put the rent up or sell at any given time. U can also increase ur share of ownership when ur in a position to. Biggest negative is that even tho u don’t own 100%, ur still liable for big repairs, etc so if ur boiler goes kaput, it’s ur responsibility to replace. The housing assoc or whoever doesn’t contribute. And of course u have to pay rent on a % of the property. Personally I’d do SO over renting

@Aimee what’s putting me off is the service fees and how much they increase😭😭

Also obv don’t know ur circumstances but if u get UC top up, ur prob better using some savings on a deposit rather than having it sat in the bank as you’d lose some UC once savings are over £6k and if its over £16k, ur claim would close. Plus with SO, UC will help with the rent element.

@Helen that’s why I’m somewhat gravitating towards it, it’s just the service fees for me which put me off a bit but renting was a complete hassle for me previously

@Helen I didn’t know uc could help with that! That would be a massive help😭

That!!!! And more so for me I’ve heard it’s also hard selling up shares if you then want to move.. so it becomes a very long term decision x

@Tiana I’m not sure about service fees. I was a child when my mum had SO and I’d guess they’ve increased a shed load since then. If u have different options re who the other party would be, different housing assoc etc, I’d research it more. Maybe ask on a local fb page for people’s experiences with SO near you. You definitely want to go into it knowing all the facts.

My first flat was shared ownership. Great to get on the ladder, but absolute nightmare to get out of when you want to move. There is a lot of hidden fees. I had to pay my solicitor fees and the buyers when I brought a house. Also you will never have enough money in the property to make a lot when you sell. Making it difficult to buy a bigger property. Also if a flat I also had to pay a hell of a lot of Service fees. For a lift, gardener and cleaning of the communal areas of the flats. But then renting is wasted money as you will be paying for something you will not own.. also as someone else said costs of repairs. We had to contribute to a new roof the year we left which was a few thousand per flat. X

I did shared ownership when I got my first house and had no issues. Only negative as others have said is that you are responsible 100% for maintenance but only get 50% of the profit when you sell. I added value to my house by doing it up a lot so was annoying that I only got 50% of the sale price. Great opportunity to get on the ladder though!

Just adding a comment re someone else’s perspective of difficulty getting out of shared ownership. I think it depends on the location and the property. My mum had no problems finding a buyer who took on the shared ownership. I guess it’s much like any property, the more desirable property and location will sell easier than one less so. And I would imagine in today’s climate, more people are turning to shared ownership to get on the property ladder.

@Lucy hey if you don’t mind me asking, did you then go on to buy another property that wasn’t shared ownership with the 50% you got from the sale or did you continue with another so property?

@Sophie-Jayne I’ve been all over tiktok and Facebook and some people are like it’s great they love it then there’s others who are also saying about the expensive fees😭 I just feel like if I’m putting 1.5 into renting somewhere I might as well buy? If buying 100% of a property was an option I’d absolutely do it but the way the house prices are increasing makes it feel impossible

@Tiana 100% buy. Ah I know it's a joke! We had one when we were 19 and 20 and now 33 and moved 3 times since. It gets you on the ladder definitely. You can buy more shares from what I remember. And tbh any flat has the most ridiculous fees anyway if there's a lift etc x

@Sophie-Jayne I can imagine. Thanks for the advice though x

@Tiana the only other thing I can suggest is looking for the shared ownership of a property that isn’t a block of flats! I remember looking a few months back and some places actually have SO schemes on houses - albeit not in London but not far out xx

@Tiana I actually sold my house and went travelling with the money then rented for a while when I got back purely because I moved to a city where house prices are insane. Have just got my own place now. However, if I hadn’t gone travelling then yes I would’ve used the profit for a deposit for a new house x

@Lucy thank you, your advice has been really helpful x

@Aimee I wouldn’t mind, only thing is my job is based in south London so the commute there and back everyday whether it’s driving or public transport would probably become costly too x

@Tiana that’s my issue, the money being saved on housing is being spent on travel into work so might as well pay the higher housing cost to save the commute 💀💀 good luck anyway girl xx

@Aimee it’s a nightmare. I feel like properties should be capped once they hit a certain amount cause some of the ones I’m seeing to rent definitely aren’t worth the price then the so ones have the sky rocket service fees. But thanks hun, you too🩷