According to the business bites in today’s Metro paper, the average single first time home buyers outside of London faces saving for over 11 years to save for a deposit to buy their first home. In the capital this increases to 17 years according to Hamptons estate agents.
First time home buyers can save time and money with shared ownership
First time home buyers should consider shared ownership as a viable option. They need less money to raise for a deposit as it is a part buy part rent property. Also, they can save time in raising the deposit.
Shared ownership doesn’t have to be a brand new property. You can also find shared ownership resale homes on the market. Typically they are advertised by the housing associations or estate agents.
So are there any catches for first time buyers with shared ownership?
For new build, in most cases, you will need to have a local connection. Housing associations will outline this on their property adverts. If this is unclear you should get in touch with them to find out more about the criteria.
Also, with it being a part buy part rent property you will buy a share of the property, the minimum is usually 25%. You will pay rent on the remaining share to the housing association. There are also other costs to consider such as service charges and the fact that in most cases the housing association will own the lease to the property.
Similar costs to buying a house outright
Like buying a house there are other costs to consider as well as the deposit. These include mortgage arrangement fees, solicitors fees and getting a valuation done for the shared ownership property you are looking to buy. When you do eventually move there will also be removals costs to consider too.
