In Shared Ownership Week (5-12 October) the spotlight is on the part-buy, part-rent pathway to home ownership and the lives that it changes. First time buyers Adele and Phil are settling into their new home, thanks to shared ownership.
Adele and Phil received notice that their landlord wanted to sell the house that they had been privately renting in Stafford. For the second time in four years they had to find somewhere else to live, with just weeks to move. This time though, their search was made even more difficult because their daughter was about to start school.
“We just felt that we had no sense of stability for our family,” explains Adele. “Buying a home of our own was obviously the best solution but rent payments and childcare costs meant that it was impossible to save the kind of deposit that we would need to purchase anything in Stafford, even with both of us earning.”
That was when the couple learned about a brand new development in the town, including homes for shared ownership marketed by Severn Homes.
“We bought our house before we had even seen it!” says Adele. “We own a 50 per cent share in our new home. With shared ownership we needed a much lower deposit, so we have been able to move somewhere better than anything we could have afforded.
“Before, we were renting a two-bedroomed house. Now, we have a three-bedroomed home that gives us a lot more space and includes a garden. Taking into account our mortgage and subsidised rent on the portion of the property that we don’t own, we are paying just £40 a month more and we know that this is our home, for as long as we want it.”
“The day when we were able to step inside to view, we walked around the house, hardly able to believe that we’d really done it. We were buying a home! Our little girl was with us and for the next few weeks, she would wake-up every morning and ask if we were going to the ‘nice house’.
“Shared ownership has given us the key to buying a home of our own, without breaking the bank. It’s beautiful, it’s ours and we love it. We can’t wait for Christmas and have already decided where we are going to put the tree!”
Adele and Phil bought a 50% share in their new home and plan to take advantage of the flexibility of shared ownership by purchasing additional shares as their circumstances change – something called ‘staircasing’.
You can find more information about shared ownership here and see some of the homes that we have available here.