Agony Agent

Readers put their property questions to our guest panel of experts: solicitors, mortgage advisers, property gurus and Help to Buy providers

THIS MONTH’S PANEL OF EXPERTS

James MacPhail, Head of Sales and Marketing, settle

Asha Agarwal, Interim Head of Sales, Be West

Simon Scott, Assistant Director Assistant Director of Commercial & of Commercial & Property Marketing, Property Marketing, Origin Housing Origin Housing

TEST THE PANEL

We need your questions...

If you have any queries, or diffi culties in understanding the property buying process, our panel of experts is waiting to help. Send our team your questions on buying property, Help to Buy, legal issues, or your fi nancial problems and we’ll fi nd the best person from the panel to give the advice you need.

Email your questions to: lynda@ rsttimebuyermag.co.uk

Can we buy a home with space?

QMy partner and I have been

trying to save up for a deposit on our first home while we’ve been living in a house share in London. Like most of our friends, we no longer need to be in the office every day and during the lockdowns we really enjoyed growing our own vegetables in our garden. So, our first home together needs to have space for a home office and we’d both really like it to have its own garden. We’ve heard about the shared ownership scheme but all we seem to be able to afford are one and two bedroom apartments with little or no outside space. Will we ever be able to own our dream house or should we give up and accept that renting is our only option?

Laura Knight, Acton

AThe last couple of years have made everyone reconsider what’s important to them, and nothing is more important than where we call home. While in the past, the travel time to the office was a key consideration for many when choosing where to live, the move to hybrid working has meant that we’re no longer tied to our daily commute. If you’re only going into the office a couple of times a week then consider expanding your property search area to include areas where your commute back to the office is a little longer than you would have previously considered. Look at towns on good train lines back into London. You’ll be surprised, when you’re used to the London property market, the size of properties you’ll find that are within your budget once you consider areas surrounding the capital.

And once you find that you can afford that house with the home office, the garden and with countryside on your doorstep, you’ll realise that moving out of London offers you the lifestyle you’re after.

At settle, we specialise in shared ownership homes throughout Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. For example, at our recent development at Collins Close in Shepreth, South Cambridgeshire, just 54 minutes from London King’s Cross, we had two bedroom houses starting from £133,000 for a 40% share and a monthly cost of around £1,177.

Over the next 12 months we have two, three and four bedroom houses available at several different developments across our region which will be perfect for buyers like yourself, who are looking for that extra space yet still have easy access back into London. For more information about buying shared ownership with settle visit settlesales.co.uk

What are my chances of getting on the ladder?

QI have been saving to buy a home for three

years and am eager to take my first step on to the property ladder in London with the money I have put aside. However, with the cost of living rising so drastically, I want to know how I can still afford to put down a deposit at this time. Is this still feasible for me, as a first time buyer?

Tim Ranger, Peckham

AAs a first time buyer, purchasing a new build shared ownership property is a great way to take your first step on to the property ladder. Against a backdrop of the rising cost of living, it can offer a more cost-efficient route to owning a home.

Most shared ownership homes are newly built. One key advantage to buying a new build home is that they are designed to be more energy efficient than older properties due to modern building techniques, newer construction materials and more efficient appliances. This means that as well as having a reduced impact on the environment, buying new almost always saves homeowners money on energy bills. This is good news as fuel prices are rising.

New properties also frequently offer additional extras. For example, at Origin Housing’s new development, Harrow & Wealdstone Heights in north London, buyers enjoy integrated appliances with every apartment, including stainless steel oven, ceramic hob, stainless steel-finished extractor fan, fridge-freezer, and dishwasher. This means buyers can move straight in. There is no need to worry about further additional costs of purchasing white goods, or the expense of renovating an older property.

Shared ownership itself is an affordable route on to the property ladder. It is a part-buy, part-rent scheme which allows eligible buyers to purchase a percentage share of a property. As well as allowing you to purchase with a smaller deposit, buying through shared ownership gives buyers more long-term security than they would have when renting on the open market; three very welcome factors as the cost of living increases.

During a time of increasing mortgage rates, shared ownership is a fantastic way to ensure your costs remain as low as possible. The reason this is important is because if you buy an initial 25% share, the other 75% of the property owned by the housing association is rented to you at a discounted rate. Compared to purchasing a home privately, purchasing it through shared ownership means you save 40% on your housing costs and require an income that’s 45% lower too, or approximately £728 per calendar month compared to purchasing a home outright. If interest rates continued to rise, shared ownership buyers are protected as only the share amount bought will be affected.

For more information about Origin’s new build properties, please visit: originhousingsales.co.uk/developments

Simon Scott

Where do I find out about shared ownership?

QI am a first time buyer and

I have been saving up for a long time. I work in west London and would really like to buy in the area but I know that homes are probably going to be out of my budget. I have heard of shared ownership but I’m not sure what it is. Is there a good website where I can find all the answers to my questions in one place?

Leanne Conroy, Hounslow

AWest London is a great place to buy your first home and shared ownership would be a very affordable option. If you go to our website bewest.co.uk you will find a wealth of information. We have an informative step-by-step buyers guide where you can find everything you need to know about how shared ownership works and there are lots of facts and answers to commonly asked questions, plus there is a very useful shared ownership calculator. The calculator will help you work out how you can afford your dream home.

Based on the information you give, it will provide an example of what your monthly mortgage and rent payments could be depending on the size of your deposit and the percentage share that you are purchasing. Rent is calculated at 4% of the full market value of the remaining share. The calculator also provides the minimum income that is required to purchase your shared ownership home. The guide simply walks you through the steps needed to buy your first shared ownership home and I am sure you will find it invaluable.

Good luck on your journey and I hope you discover your first dream home in the area you want to live in very soon.