Platform Home Ownership is marking Shared Ownership Week (September 25 – October 1) by highlighting Shared Ownership as an affordable way of getting onto the property ladder and the various benefits of taking that route, when other options may not be available.
Platform has seen an increase in popularity in the Shared Ownership scheme. In fact, the start of 2024 saw a 152 per cent sale increase when comparing to last year, owing to the increase in popularity of the scheme in a time of economic uncertainty.
Through the process of staircasing, those using Shared Ownership can gradually increase the amount of their home that they own all the way up to 100 per cent ownership if they choose to.
Shared Ownership allows home seekers to purchase a share of their home and pay rent on the remaining amount, typically buying between 10 per cent and 75 per cent of the property’s full market value.
This lowers the amount needed for a deposit, with most deposits on Shared Ownership schemes between 5 per cent and 10 per cent of the share and not the full amount.
Through Shared Ownership, the average full market price of a new home is £282,000. However, buyers can purchase a share for an average value of £96,000. This significantly lowers the upfront deposit needed, providing relief to those unable to afford a home outright, and removing the burden of having to save up a significant chunk of the house price before purchasing.
Shared Ownership also allows homebuyers to purchase the portion of the home they can afford, which means that they also end up only paying the portion of the mortgage that works for them.
This highlights the main benefit of Shared Ownership, aside from its accessiblity to people looking to get on the property ladder when compared with buying a home outright, which is the scheme’s flexibility.
Prospective homeowners can buy as big or small a share of the new home as is comfortable for them initially, and with the option to staircase, the scheme is as flexible as buyers need to feel comfortable in the process.
Juliet Mourino, Sales and Marketing Administrator at Platform Home Ownership, said: “Shared Ownership is something we are very proud of here at Platform. It’s an excellent option that opens the doors for many buyers, and we hope that sharing the benefits of the scheme can help more people realise that their dreams of home ownership are within reach.”
Widespread misconceptions surrounding Shared Ownership include the notion that because residents don’t own 100 per cent of their home they aren’t free to decorate it however they’d like, and that it’s prohibitively difficult to sell the home if it should ever be necessary.
However, Shared Ownership is not like renting, where in many cases, changes cannot be made to a home. Shared Ownership buyers are free to decorate in any way they like aside from structural changes, and there is no rule or limit on when the homebuyer is or is not allowed to move out. Just like with any other property, that decision is purely up to the homeowner.
For more information on Shared Ownership at Platform, please visit https://www.platformhomeownership.com/shared-ownership, and for more information on Shared Ownership properties available in Lincolnshire, please visit https://www.platformhomeownership.com/properties.
*Ts&Cs apply.
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