Thankyou Elaine. Your response covered many of the issues we were anxious about and were not aware of! I think shared ownership may not be the route to go through.

My experience may help as i have just sold a shared ownership in Staines. Things to remember are that although I spent £20K on improving the property the HA still got 50% of the price I sold for. Improvements are only taken account of if you staircase apparently. This was an older property and when I went to sell I found the lease was less than 70 years and I had to spend £10K renewing the lease with the HA who then renewed with the superior landlord for £10K, ie I paid for it all! Without the new lease it was unmortgageable. Generally shared ownerships are new properties, but always check the lease. Finally, the HA had it valued by a chartered surveyor and this became the selling price. The purchaser then had it surveyed for his mortgage and they valued it £20K less than the HA, which affected the mortgage he could get. There is no doubt the HA overvalue the properties so watch out for this and get your own valuation. Ultimately, I sold it for £20K less than the HA valuation, or I would never have sold it.

As the price went down I suppose the only way I made anything was that the HA took half the loss!

Also, the purchaser was within the stamp duty threshold and did not pay any, but if he staircases above the threshold he will become liable for it all.

Remember as well that when you come to sell you have to sell to a HA applicant and rely on them marketing it properly.After a certain amount of weeks if they do not find a buyer you are free to sell to who you want through your own agent. Either way, you pay all the selling costs regardless of the percentage you own.

Generally, you do not make money on shared ownership and unless it is the only way you can get into the market I would avoid it. If it is the only way, then make sure you get an independent valuation and negotiate the price. It proved more trouble than it was worth in my experience!

Hope this helps.

Elaine

Thankyou for your reply, I will certainly tell them to get a second valuation for any future properties!

hi, you do have to be very careful on which housing association you go to! alot are very over priced, luckily the one myself and my partner choose had a realistic view, we got a 2 bed in canary wharf and considering the market got it for 10,000 cheaper than any of the same on the market! if they go for it get and independent valuation as barclays valued ours at 20,000 cheaper than list price and as been as the ha were very aware of thee situation we got a great deal for our perfect aparment and fyi our valuation was from barclays!

An entry level 2 bedroomed terraced house round there would cost £130 or £140k and there are dozens of 1 bed flats on the market for £90 - £100k. I do not know where the £200k figure comes from. If they pay £200k for something that is only worth half that, however it is dressed up as a fancy scheme, the difference will be lost - it will be money that cannot be put into the next property or passed on to children.

My opinion is that they would be better putting the deposit plus the £75k mortgage together and spending it sensibly rather than spending it with the first builder willing to take it. rightmove.co.uk is worth a browse. Here are a couple of flats that would be just about within reach of their current finances

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-23224942.html

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-25996007.html

(Both actually sold but they give an idea about what is coming on the market at that price). I don't know how they compare with the shared ownership deal but I somehow doubt that that property justifies a price of twice what the above sold for.

My son and partner are first time buyers with an annual income between them of ££35,000 approx. They have saved £16,000 towards a deposit (they live and work in Kingston, Surrey) and have been unable to secure a mortgage. Their only option seems to be going down the shared ownership route.

They could only find a 4 year fixed time mortgage for the £75,000 (40% ownership) they require for the one bedroomed flat in Walton-on-Thames thye are considering which is valued at £200,000 and are a bit anxious about signing up for this, given the present climate where no job is secure.

We have heard many conflicting views about shared-ownership properties, mostly advising against.

I would appreciate any advice on shared ownership properties