Shared Ownership is resolving the problem faced by people trying to get onto the property ladder.

Shared Ownership Mortgages are allowing first time buyers and families struggling with the credit crunch to get onto the property ladder by giving people the chance to share the ownership of a home.

Shared ownership schemes, which have recently been opened up to all first time buyers earning less than £60k per year, allow you to share the financial responsibility of home ownership. By part owning the property and then renting the other share of the property you can slowly get onto the property ladder.

Shared ownership schemes encourage you to buy as large a percentage as possible and then over time buy more shares in the property as you can afford to.

There are several different types of shared ownership mortgages, so it is often a good idea to shop around and find the right shared ownership mortgage for you and your situation.

Shared Ownership Mortgages are pretty straight forward in that you ‘part own’ and ‘part rent’ a property, but if you want some figures to help you understand the process, then these case studies should help explain what you can expect from this type of housing scheme.

Shared Ownership Schemes

The mortgage amount you need to raise initially for your shared ownership mortgage is much lower than a standard mortgage and therefore accommodates lower incomes. It is worth being aware that the mortgage and rental payments are equal to, or only a little higher than renting a property completely (and paying the landlords mortgage).

Shared Ownership Mortgage Case Study:

Jack and Kate are first time buyers earning £15,000 each. They each have 1 loan costing £120 per month for each loan.

The property they want to buy is valued at £180,000, and they wish to purchase a 50% share, raising a mortgage of £60,000. The rental payment for the remaining share is £150 per month.

Jack and Kate’s incomes and outgoings will allow them to borrow up to £100,000, so £60,000 is comfortable for them, the mortgage payments will be in the region of £430.00 per month. And the best bit? While a deposit would be great, they could opt for 100% of their share!

After paying the mortgage, the rental and their loans, Jack and Kate will be left with around £1000 per month for remaining bills.

When the couple’s income increases they will be able to buy an additional share of the property.

Builders Shared Equity Schemes

This is similar to Shared Ownership, but you will own the property jointly with the Builder and not a Housing Association.

A builder will offer a new home at typically 75% of the property value. So, if the property is valued at £200,000 you will raise a mortgage for £150,000. You do not pay rent to the builder for the remaining 25% but usually have to buy the remaining share within 10 years at market value.

Lenders are happy to accept the builders share as a deposit, saving you a massive £10,000 on the deposit alone.If you are unsure about how shared ownership mortgages can benefit you, then contact us and we can talk your through every aspect of getting the right mortgage for you.

Shared ownership schemes are handing first time buyers a life line to get onto the property ladder.

With lending criteria becoming tougher to meet and larger deposits required to secure homes, shared ownership is opening up the possibilities to many.

The Notting Hill Home Ownership association has made claims that the shared ownership mortgage market is buoyant and shared ownership housing is in great demand.

The Notting Hill Home Ownership is one of the largest housing associations in the country and their recent observations have been reported up and down the country.

Shared ownership mortgages are becoming a viable option for first time buyers, opening the door to affordable home ownership. Since the Government announced changes to shared ownership housing and allowing non-key workers the chance to get onto the property ladder, shared ownership mortgages have been dusted off and re-vamped for 2008.

Shared ownership is still value for money and is helping first time buyers, families and those who cannot afford to get onto the property ladder in today’s climate, the chance.

Shared ownership schemes are becoming more and more popular amongst young professionals who saw 2008 as their year to get onto the property ladder and are now up against the credit crunch to do so. Shared ownership is their first step into the housing market and up the ladder.

Many potential first time buyers are worried about being able to get onto the property ladder and afford the repayments on their first home, which is where shared ownership schemes come in.

With the work that the Government are doing to get the property market back on track, shared ownership mortgages are giving people the chance to finally get onto the property ladder without getting further into debt to do so.

If you are interested in obtaining a shared ownership mortgage, then contact us here at Click n Go Mortgages and talk to us about how we can help you to get into the property ladder.

Shared ownership mortgages and schemes were once only available to key workers like nurses and police officers but now the ‘part rent, part buy’ schemes have been opened up to help ordinary professionals climb onto the property ladder.

Any first time buyers that thought 2008 would be the year for them to enter the property market are holding their breath at the moment, wondering whether their dreams of home ownership will ever come to fruition.

The credit crunch has meant that for many the dream has been put on the back burner, but some are still managing to get onto the property ladder using the shared ownership schemes.

According to one London Housing Association the London Shared Ownership market is still buoyant regardless of the reports that mortgage approvals are plummeting and are in fact at an all time low.

Gone are the days of strict shared ownership mortgages where you had to fit into particular criteria and here are the days of the government helping first time buyers and families to get onto the property ladder.

The latest shared ownership scheme to be announced by the Government in the past few weeks is ‘Rent to HomeBuy’.  This is another attempt by the Government to improve market conditions for first time buyers and even developers have got involved by introducing their own versions of ‘shared equity’ schemes.

London Shared Ownership is helping young professionals to get onto the property ladder and is one of the only options still available to first time buyers.  With rent going up, house prices coming down but mortgages still unobtainable for most unless they are able to produce a large deposit, shared ownership mortgages are looking like the best chance for many.

One borough of London has seen 29 exchanges on properties last month alone through the London Shared Ownership Schemes available and people who had before, never considered shared ownership picking up the phone.

The London Shared Ownership seems to be very popular with those in the banking sector and law firms in the city, and not the usual public sector employees that were the shared ownership mortgage audience.

The London shared ownership schemes are helping so many people to finally get onto the property ladder and avoid the commute.  With the added benefit of ‘staircasing’, people are able to lay out what they can now and buy more over time.

Because of the part buy, part rent schemes out there, the risk to buyers is pretty much taken away as they buy a percentage of the property that they can afford and if the housing market does mean that their property falls in value they could be in the situation to actually buy more sooner than they had thought.

If you are interested in a shared ownership mortgage then get in touch with Click n Go Mortgages.

The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, is considering emergency measures to kick start the housing market by temporarily suspending stamp duty.

Last night Gordon Brown spoke out about an idea that was being worked on by the Treasury to help out families who need to move but are ‘hard-pressed’ at the moment.

The percentage of Stamp Duty that you pay is dependant upon how much you pay for the property.  Currently 1% is paid on houses above £125,000 to £250,000, 3% on houses priced at £250,001 to £500,000 and 4% on £500,001 or more.

In the past 10 years stamp duty has brought in £31.5 billion and it is easy to see how.

Last month figures showed that stamp duty had taken a beating as house prices fell and the credit crunch took hold of the property market.

The Chancellor has hinted at a change to stamp duty but findings will be presented at the end of the month to the Prime Minister, so we will have to watch this space.

Calls to change stamp duty have been championed by Kirsty and Phil of the Channel 4 program ‘Location, Location, Location’.  They are asking the Government to abolish stamp duty for first time buyers when the property value is under £250,000.

Kirsty and Phil would like to see a graduated tax for everyone else so that you only pay 1% on the first £125,000 to £250,000.  Once over this amount, the stars of the Channel 4 show would like to see us paying 3% on the amount over £250,000 – rather than the whole amount – and similarly 4% on the amount OVER £500,000 – again, not the full amount.

With so many people lobbying for a reduction in stamp duty, surely we are at a turning point?