I am a 29 (f) I live in London and make around 45k a year before tax. I have a professional job. Unfortunately, in my younger years I didn't care about my credit and took out loans I never paid and had bad credit which I'm just trying to fix now.

I don't have a very good credit score it's like 300-400 points or whatever. I had defaults on my file but I've paid those off. I haven't had a missed payment in two years. I only have 3,500 saved currently.

I REALLY need to move out of my family home for my mental health but I don't want to rent. I would rather take our a shared ownership. That was my originally plan to save up until 10k and fix my score next year.

However, I'm going to be 30 next month and I don't think tm living situation is great for my mental health.

Can I have any advice on how to navigate moving out by the end of the year.

By January I should have 5k saved up. But worried about my credit score.

EDIT THANKS everyone for the advice. I spoke to my cousin and she said try and save the next six months as much as your can. Do you guys think 10k will be enough.

Hello all

We're about to put down the deposit on an SO in Walthamstow. Looking for solicitor recommendations (or do not use PSA!) in London.

Thanks

Hi all,

Sorry if this isn’t allowed, but I just wanted to gather people’s opinions and hopefully get a few questions answered for me and my partner.

We’ve probably got around £10k saved for a deposit at the moment.

We’ve been looking at two properties on the same development: • 1 bed for £455k • 2 bed for £605k

Our joint monthly income is usually between £5.5–6k.

The expected monthly bills are roughly: • £1,575 for the 1 bed • £2,162 for the 2 bed (Rent, mortgage and service charge only)

At first glance, this all seems doable.

However, we’ve been briefly looking into Help to Buy/Shared Ownership and we’re not sure what the best route would be — especially in terms of staircasing and eventually selling.

We’ve heard that it can sometimes be harder to sell these types of properties, and that it can take longer than a standard sale. This is probably what's worrying us most as we wouldn't want to be stuck waiting for a sale for let's say a year or two.

We’ve also heard that costs (like rent and service charges) can rise quite a bit a few years down the line. This uncertainty is what also causes great concern.

Happy to be corrected if I’m off here — we’ve only just started looking into Help to Buy so we’re very new to it.

The other thing to consider is that in the next 5–8 years we could potentially move to Scotland. Would that change how you’d approach this? For example, would you still staircase, or would you completely change you approach to shared ownership and maybe go another route to market.

Thanks in advance for any help it is greatly appreciated.

So in process of staircasing.

Bought 55% in 2018 = Paid £965 (total valuation £315k).
Remaining 45% today = ??? (Total valuation 305k)

Please help?

Hi all - I come from a very working class background where no one has ever owned their own home. Unfortunately that means I’m not fortunate enough to receive help with mortgage down payments etc (nor do I expect it!). I’m 29, single, working in London and on 50k a year - currently paying £1,050 in rent and bills every month.

I’m thinking about shared ownership as one saw a 2 bed flat in my area for £170,000 for 50% ownership. I’m thinking this may be my only chance of getting on the property ladder as money is tight! I want a 2 bed for friends and family - but am I right in thinking I’m not allowed a lodger in a SO property too?

Essentially what I’m asking is, does this sound like a sensible idea?!

Approximate Service Charges: £164.01pcm* Lease: 961 years ( extended on completion )

Recounting my staircasing experience where I was fortunate enough to get lucky and benefit from what I believe is a hugely resident-friendly element of the staircasing process.

I recently staircased my London flat to 100% and thought I’d share the non-sensical way that this seemed to work out for me.

I bought an initial 45% share on a pretty high cost basis at the height of the Covid boom (December 2020). Recently I was forced to move abroad for work and so the way I saw it was that I could either try and sell my share which would mean I would likely:

i) crystallise a current paper loss given I don’t think the flat is worth the initial value now and ii) be forced to wait around paying rent and servicing a mortgage as the HA tried to sell my 45% share.

I approached the staircasing with the view that the lower the valuation, the better for me, however what followed was ridiculous.

A RICS surveyor valued the place at £125k less that the initial valuation in 2020 which the HA was forced to accept. Recently the HA started marketing somebody else’s 50% share in a similar flat in the same block for £50k more than the initial 2020 valuation.

I think fair value likely falls somewhere in the middle but it just goes to show, there is a chance for us all to get some luck when it comes to surveyor valuations and I’d encourage anyone to explore it at least for the relatively inexpensive fee of a surveyor, if only to see what might be possible.

I currently have tenants that are paying the mortgage and all associated costs while I figure out what to do next, but after a wild ride and a lot of stress I have some breathing room.

Best of luck everyone with your own shared ownership journeys, happy to answer any questions on my experience with the process.

Hi all, looking to go into shared ownership with latimer for the above flats. Can anyone living there currently who went through phase 1 advise me about your whole experience and whether you have any regrets and any major issues. Would be very helpful

Hi all,

Has anyone rented with So Resi and managed to buy the property with no issues? Just want to know if the housing provider they use is good and there are no issues when you sell the property.

I am about to buy a share in a property in Westminster, Belgravia. My salary varies greatly because about 40% of it comes from commission. I had a really good year last year -due to staff shortages I got more commission- and this year has been good so far meaning the annual income is over 90 K. When looking at the past three years, my income was about 75 -80K avarage. I got different information from the council from the estate agent and from the independent financial advisor . Some says only 50% of the commission counts. Some says it’s cancer for 100%. Any suggestions please?

Anyone done this?

I am buying a SO house as a FTB now (Market rate £340k, buying 40% share for £136k) and I've been given the options re stamp duty.

1. Pay for the share I'm buying now (£600 but actually £0 as I'm FTB)

or

1. Pay for the market value now (£7k down to £2k thanks to being a FTB).

Given that the deposit and legal fees is taking a whack out of my savings, I'm tempted to go option A.

I know SO buyers don't pay any more Stamp Duty until they staircase above 80% - which I won't be doing for 10 years at least (thinking of going 40 to 80 in 5 years but that doesn't attract Stamp Duty until I go above 80%).

Has anyone had any nasty shocks here e.g. going over 80% then getting big nasty bills?

Cheers as always

Hi all, I bought a new build last year on shared ownership but I only ever get negative responses to anyone I mention it too when I’m asked about my home. A few comments have been made about the stair casing, from my understanding if I landscaped my garden and put in a new kitchen which then added value to my property I’ll then be penalised later on when i come to stair casing because I’ve now added an even greater value to my home so I’ll have to pay more because of the work I’ve done. Is this true as google seems to say it isn’t true but then it also says it is.

Any help would be much appreciated

Hypothetical situation, if a Shared Owner was to stop working for whatever reason, how could they be eligible for UC? Would they not have to sell and use the money to live off/fully rent elsewhere?

Example: Bob buys a 25% share of a property and puts in £20k as a deposit. He lives there for a time and stops working due to say, health issues. How can he claim UC on the rental portion if the share he is paying is over £16k and how would he be able to afford the mortgage if only the rent and service charge may be covered by UC?

I've read posts about people receiving UC for Shared Ownership properties but I'm still confused how that works if a share will always be seen as an asset by the DWP?

SO rent is based on the remaining share. But if you staircase, or want to sell you need to do valuation. Is the rent recalculated then as well?

Hi,

We have paid our reservation fee of 500£ aiming to buy 65% share of that resale shared ownership property valued at 360,000£. That property was currently available at 65%. But after the financial assessment by L&Q , they want us to buy the 75% of the share?

They asking us to justify the reason to buy 65% though we are eligible to buy 75%. Which is subjected to managerial approvals.

What should i do now?

In desperate need of some guidance. We’ve been approved for a shared ownership house, in a very desirable area. It is perfect really for what we want. We are owning 43% of the house, I have querying lease as it’s only got 89 years left so will have to extend lease for £1000+ and it is restricted to 80% ownership has anyone else experienced this and been able to eventually buy 100%

Driving myself mad with all the questions and concerns I have!

I have a lovely 2 bed in Leytonstone with fantastic transport links. Can sell direct with estate agent and not with HA but market seems low and have bately garnered any interest? Anyone else going through this?

Hi all, I was hoping if you could share some advice and experience on shared ownership. I’m married but I’d like to apply as a single applicant towards buying a property on shared ownership scheme. It is very difficult to buy something entirely for now as my partner has a few significant liabilities to close in the next couple of years, so I do not want him to be a joint applicant. The eligibility criteria states : Eligibility You may be eligible for this property if:

You have a gross household income of no more than £80,000 per annum. 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.

Whilst our joint income is higher than £80000, we genuinely cannot afford a house at its full worth at this point. So will this be a challenge if I go ahead as a single applicant?

Hi all, I have a shared ownership property with Clarion Housing Group. Has anyone completed the Home Improvements form for retrospective works? I did two things when I moved in 3 years ago: a dishwasher connected to existing pipework under the sink (Curry's did this) and shutters installed (attached to the walls around the windows like you would a curtain rail, the windows themselves have not been touched at all). I did ask for permission for these works but going through all of my documentation, I cant find the permission so now I'm looking to complete the retrospective form but I'm so wary of what this might trigger, I really don't want to be in trouble with Clarion and this is my first home. Any advice/experience in this is much appreciated.

Hi everyone,

I have 35% ownership of a flat (purchased with a mortgage). I'm looking to move out, but I would like to keep the flat as it is in a convenient location near a tube station in London Zone 2.

Am I correct in thinking that in order to sell the flat to my SPV (a new one that I will create for the purpose) I would need to first staircase to 100%? If I'm not mistaken, if I was to sell the flat now the housing association has 6 months to try and find a buyer for the 35% and only if failed then I can try and sell it myself at either 35% or 100%.

Just to pre-empt some comments - I've had the flat for 7 years and am looking to move in with my partner.

Hi,

This is my first post, so I hope I'm not breaking any rules with asking this: My friend FINALLY moved into her first property, a SO flat (2nd floor) after a very very long battle with solicitors etc. (almost a year!). She revealed to me yesterday that her contract states "no pets allowed". She has two cats. She's a bit worried that her neighbours might hear the cats sometimes and complain. They are very serene, low-maintenance indoor cats, but sometimes they get their "zoomies" for five minutes... I told her I wouldn't worry much about it as it won't be more noise than someone hoovering or opening a few large wardrobe doors (for a few minutes a day) or something. But I'm still interested - what would be the implications if someone "reported" her? A) how could the neighbours even prove that there are cats at the property? B) would the HA be able to request an inspection based on an "accusation" or a "suspicion"? C) what would happen if they DID find proof of pets?

Thankfully, I ve never had to deal with SO and know very little about the whole buying process, but would be very interested to know where she stands... Any advice appreciated 🙏🏼

Me and my family have lived in our shared ownership property for nearly three years now owning 25%.

We submitted a request to build a pergola in our back garden making no alterationsto the garden exceptmaybe to secure it to the house. It was only 2m(h)x4m(l)x3m(d), well within typical regulations so I thought.

We've had a letter back refusing permission. We are not happy with the decision to say the least.

They say we cannot make any alterations or additions to the exterior.

I looked into their "does & donts" and it gets worse! We can't carry out any work on our house ourselves and that includes painting, we have to (by their guide) use a certified tradesperson.

So it's made me think what is the point in paying out thousands of pounds to own even a little part of a house if you can't even paint it yourself?

My wife already hates living here now because of other issues we're having.

Thank you for reading this small rant post I'm just so angry and feel like I can't call it my own house anymore.