Karen Chui is one of the few solicitors in the local area who deal with and have specialist experience of sales and purchases of Shared Ownership Housing and Properties in particular Kings Forest Housing Limited (Flagship Housing) and The Cambridge Housing Society Limited.

What is Shared Ownership?
Shared Ownership is a popular government initiative which allows you to get on the property ladder by part buying and part renting your home if you cannot afford to buy it on the open market. Depending on your circumstances you may be able to initially buy 25%, 50% or even 75% with an option to purchase further shares (‘staircasing’) until you own the property outright.

What are Housing Associations?
You usually share the property’s ownership with a housing association. Housing Associations are non profit making registered social landlords created to manage social housing. In the local area Kings Forest Housing Limited and The Cambridge Housing Society Limited are both currently offering new build affordable housing.

Are you eligible to buy a shared ownership house?
You are likely to be considered if you have a housing need but unable to afford to purchase a property valued on the open market or your occupation means that you are considered to be a Key Worker. Priority is given to people on the Housing Associations waiting lists.

Where can you find a shared ownership property?
You should contact a housing association agent such as Flagship Housing and make enquiries about new builds. As often a development site will have a section of housing ear marked to be transferred to social housing these often become available in a batch alternatively you can be asked to put onto a waiting list to be notified when a share becomes available for sale. When a shared owner wants to move on initially the property will be offered to those on a housing association waiting list however, if for whatever reason a buyer cannot be secured from the waiting list the share will be advertised in a local estate agents.

Can I get a mortgage for a shared ownership purchase?
Yes a good number of lenders will provide borrowing however, you need to make sure that they are aware that you are buying a shared ownership property from the outset to ensure that no time is wasted as it is a specialist area and would require a specialist shared ownership mortgage.

When deciding whether to buy a shared ownership property you should consider the following:

Questions you should be asking are such as:

• Who is responsible for property repairs and maintenance?
• Are there any annual charges and if so, what for?
• Can I redecorate – will I need permission?
• Will my mortgage lender ask for a new property valuation each time I increase my share?
• Can I sub-let a room?
• How will I go about selling my share?
• What is the process and costs of increasing my share? Can I own 100%?
• Who pays for buildings insurance?
• What happens when I want to sell, do I pay all the costs?
• What will the rent be and can it be controlled?
• What are my responsibilities and which ones are shared?
• What happens if I can't pay the mortgage?
• Should I take out life cover?
• How will the value be established when I want to sell?
• Can I improve the property and how will the value added to the property be accounted for?
• Supposing I die - should I take out a will?

You need to make sure you really understand the contract between you and your co-owner. Your solicitor can help you with this. Due to the complexity of the shared ownership arrangements your legal costs may be more than you expect therefore it is important to budget carefully. You should ensure that your solicitor has experience in shared ownership as inexperience will cause delay in the process.   
It's important when you are weighing up your options as a first time buyer that you are aware of the pro's and con's of each and every possibility.
The benefits of shared ownership schemes are:

• It might be the only way to get onto the property ladder
• Your share can be as low as 25% or as high as 75% at the outset
• Your share can be increased as time goes by - ‘stair-casing'.
• If you are employed in the right job, you will be considered a priority
• You can jointly apply as long as all applicants qualify
• Shared ownership properties are typically new or refurbished

The disadvantages of shared ownership schemes are:

• Eligibility can be very limited in some parts of the country
• There can be a long wait – sometimes years
• There is a limited choice of properties or locations.
• You may still have responsibilities for the maintenance and repairs of the whole property
• You may have to ask permission to make improvements
• There may be costs associated with increasing your share
• You may not ever be able to buy the whole property in some rural areas
• Not all areas are eligible for stamp duty exemption

Hopefully you will find you can be considered. Alternatively, it may be that you simply aren't eligible or that you are, but not as a high priority. In this case it is always worth looking at other options.