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Hi everyone, thought I'd see if anyone on here has any useful advice about housing.

I'm living back at home at the moment, having previously rented and had nothing but trouble from it. I am aiming to move out again by September, by which time I will be 23.

I am seriously considering buying instead of renting and wanted to know if anyone has any experience of 50% share ownership housing, where you buy 50% of your flat and pay subsidised rent to the builder then gradually buy larger shares of your flat until you own the whole thing. My friend has just bought a flat in a new build site that offers this andit seems like it would be a good option for me.

Any opinions/advise would be great.

Sorry I can't help bryony. Don't know much about that type of buy/lease scheme. Bought my first house back in August last year. One thing i would suggest is going for a fixed rate mortgage (obviously it depends on your circumstances) but at least this way you know exactly how much is going out each month. I've found it to be a massive help with regards to bills.

I'm sure some other "wiser" people will be able to answer your question though.

Luke'sGti wrote:Sorry I can't help bryony. Don't know much about that type of buy/lease scheme. Bought my first house back in August last year. One thing i would suggest is going for a fixed rate mortgage (obviously it depends on your circumstances) but at least this way you know exactly how much is going out each month. I've found it to be a massive help with regards to bills.

I'm sure some other "wiser" people will be able to answer your question though.

agreed. mines on 2 years fixed i think.
i would always recomend buying rather than renting.
advertise your 2nd room and share with someone? great way of getting about £300 a month extra for the sake of an empty room

sorry im not familiar with that sort of scheme either though, not so common i dont think. alot of first time buyers would be doing that if it was worth it, so just keep doing the right thing and asking about

Not to sure about owning a 50% share - never really looked into it.

Buying is definitely easier than renting in the long run although buying a house and sorting the mortgage is a right ball ache (i guess that doesn't apply to you!) I got a good % on a fixed for 3 year.

I have a great word document if you want for first time buyers which explains all the technical words etc! if you want me to email you it?

Yeh, that would be great dino, I think my email is in my profile, but i'll check once i've posted this.

I've been looking at the 50% share morgages because the average price for a decent flat around here is between £130 and £150 grand and I doubt I'd be able to get a morgage for that much!

Sounds like a great idea Bryony, it is no doubt what I would opt for if I was your age, single and wanting to get on the property ladder (which you are definately right in doing now).

I have only heard of one person who has also opted for this route (not that I know them personally), but all went well.

I have been a homeowner for 7 years, but still wish I had started out at an earlier age.

dino wrote:Not to sure about owning a 50% share - never really looked into it.

Buying is definitely easier than renting in the long run although buying a house and sorting the mortgage is a right ball ache (i guess that doesn't apply to you!) I got a good % on a fixed for 3 year.

I have a great word document if you want for first time buyers which explains all the technical words etc! if you want me to email you it?

I'll have a copy too please

shared ownership 90% of the time ends up in repossesion

i used to work for a mortgage company that offered this product and in the end we virtually stopped it

if u can afford to rent 50% at a higher price than an extra 50% mortgage then u may aswell get yourself 100% mortgage tbh

my suggestion is to see whether your local housing association offers to pay your 'deposit' say the first 20k on a 100k house and then look at mortgaging the extra 80%

it doesnt sound much different to shared houwever u wont fully own the house, but you wont have to pay back the 20k until you sell up - no rent to pay each month just mortgage