New homes provider Bromford marked Shared Ownership Week (September 20th-26th) by shining a light on some of the most widely-believed myths that surround the scheme.
The housing association, which provides Shared Ownership homes across Central and South West England including in the West Midlands, was helping to dispel these misconceptions and raise awareness of what continues to emerge as a viable route onto the property ladder. Bromford Shared Ownership gives first-time buyers and those who do not currently own a property the opportunity to secure a new build home with Bromford.
Homebuyers pay a mortgage on the share they own, and pay rent on the remaining share, meaning a smaller deposit is required. Then, when the time is right, the homeowners can purchase more shares through a process called staircasing, gradually increasing their ownership of their home.
Catherine Jarrett, Director of Sales and Marketing at Bromford, said: “In an age of high interest rates and with rental prices becoming unpredictable, Shared Ownership continues to prove an important method of home ownership. We hope that by addressing these common misconceptions that many will understand the importance of Shared Ownership as a scheme and how it can give a route to owning a home for those who may otherwise not have been able to.
Here are Bromford’s top five Shared Ownership myths.
You’ll never own your home outright
With Bromford Shared Ownership, depending on the terms of their lease, the homeowner can gradually increase the share of their home they own, all the way up to 100 per cent ownership of the property of the lease allows. This process is known as staircasing, and it allows the home buyer to budget at their own pace, meaning they can increase their owned stake as they see fit.
You can’t sell your Shared Ownership home
Many believe those using Shared Ownership cannot sell their home unless they have staircased up to 100 per cent, but this is not the case.
With Bromford Shared Ownership, sellers are allowed to instruct an estate agent of their choice to sell both their share and Bromford’s share on the open market. This allows for an easier selling process, meaning you can sell your Shared Ownership property more quickly.
It’s only for first-time buyers
Shared Ownership is a route onto the property ladder for many different purchasers, not just first-time buyers.
Bromford’s Shared Ownership customers come from all backgrounds, including those creating a new household (for example after a relationship breakdown), existing shared ownership customers and those who have owned outright in the past, but it is now no longer financially viable.
You can only purchase a certain type of home
With Bromford Shared Ownership, there are many different types of home that are accessible to fit the needs of the customer. Across its numerous developments, Bromford provides Shared Ownership on terraced, semi-detached and detached homes ranging from two-bedrooms to four-bedroom, as well as one-, two and three-bedroom apartments.
You need a larger deposit
The final myth is that because those using Shared Ownership are paying a smaller mortgage, that the deposit needed to secure the home must be higher – this is not the case.
With Bromford Shared Ownership, as with traditional home buying, homeowners are only required to pay a deposit based on the value of the property they own. Just as an outright sale purchaser may pay five or ten per cent on 100 per cent of their new home, a shared ownership buyer may pay five or ten per cent on 25 per cent of their new home, or on whatever percentage of their home they are purchasing.
Bromford is part of the national shared ownership campaign supported by the National Housing Federation. The campaign to raise awareness of shared ownership, supported by almost 50 organisations.
