SO Resi: Get on the property ladder in London with Shared Ownership

Think you can’t afford a home in a London hotspot? You can with Shared Ownership

More people are waking up to the fact that Shared Ownership is a fantastic way to get on the property ladder, especially in areas where you’ve been priced out of the property market and deposits are eye-wateringly high.

Just consider the price of properties in London. Recent research from Halifax estimates that first time buyers pay, on average, £453,385 for their home – almost double what people in other parts of the UK are paying. The average first time buyer deposit in London now stands at an staggering £109,885. With figures as high as these, hopeful buyers are forgiven for thinking home ownership in the capital is out of reach.

Shared Ownership makes it possible to buy a home because, as the name suggests, you are initially purchasing a share of a home; the huge advantage is that the deposit and mortgage are based on the size of the share you buy – not the full purchase price – and are therefore much lower.

Some people might find the concept of Shared Ownership confusing, but SO Resi, the Shared Ownership brand of housing association Metropolitan Thames Valley, is leading the way in showing how simple it is.

In a nutshell, this is how it works: You buy a share in a property, which is typically between 25% and 75% of the full value, depending on what you can afford. The deposit is usually 5 or 10% of your share, and you take out a mortgage to cover the rest of your share. You also pay SO Resi a monthly rent on the share you don’t own. Some people think you’re sharing with other people but it’s completely your home to live in! If you’d like to buy more shares in your home, you can do this whenever it suits you, until you own 100% of the property.

You might think that there’s a catch, and that the quality or location of a Shared Ownership home is inferior to a private sale home. But this is not the case. SO Resi offers a great selection of Shared Ownership homes in some of the most sought-after areas of London, including Hackney, Clapham and Ealing, close to a station, shops and entertainment. These are high specification homes with every modern convenience.

In fashionable Hackney, a collection of one, two and three bedroom Shared Ownership apartments have recently been launched at SO Resi Hackney Corner. Prices start at £480,000 and you could buy a 25% share for £120,000 with a 5% deposit of just £6,000. If you prefer, there’s also the option to buy a home outright at this development.

Or, if the buzz and green spaces of Clapham and Ealing are more your style, Shared Ownership apartments are available at SO Resi Clapham Park, priced from £116,750 for a 25% share in a one bedroom apartment (full price £467,000) and SO Resi Ealing, priced £105,000 for a 25% share in a one bedroom apartment (full price £420,000).

SO Resi offers many more Shared Ownership homes in and around the capital. The message is, don’t give up on that dream of a fabulous new home in a great location. Shared Ownership really does make it possible.