It's shared ownership week and we're looking at how the part buy, part rent scheme helps people.
When Roger and Gillian’s financial situation changed they didn’t think they’d be able to afford to buy a home, but with shared ownership they now own their dream home in Nailsea.
The couple met 55 years ago and for much of that time they lived in a family house in Weston-super-Mare. After they raised their own family, it allowed them to become foster parents. But when interest rates began to rise, their financial situation changed dramatically.
Roger explained what happened. “We had an interest-only mortgage, which worked for us, until interest rates shot up. Our monthly payments jumped from £200 to over £1,000. As a retired couple, we simply couldn’t afford that. And since we’d also retired from fostering, we felt it was the right time to downsize. We looked at smaller homes but found that buying on the open market just wasn’t an option.”
Gillian shared how they discovered shared ownership: “We originally thought that shared ownership wasn’t for retirees, it was just for the youngsters, but when we looked into it more we found it could work for us too. One of the children we’d fostered now lives in an Alliance Homes property and she told us how good Alliance Homes are. We looked on their website and found this apartment at Netherton Grange in Nailsea, we immediately knew it was right for us.”
Roger described how smoothly the process of buying their home was. “Everything went so well, the day the final offer came for our house we were still looking around. But that same day Sami from Alliance called asking if we’d like to view what is now our new home. The timing was so perfect!
“The communication was incredible, they talked to us every week and they chased up solicitors. Everything was done quickly. The team were brilliant, I can’t praise them enough.”
Gillian told us what a difference their new home has made to their lives. “We love this apartment, it’s secure, a good size and the quality is very good. But the best part is that we now feel much more financially stable.
“We bought our home” with a 40% share and pay a combined rent and service charge for the other 60% and that is only £160 in total. We would definitely recommend shared ownership to others our age, it’s given us certainty, security and more money to spend on our grandchildren!
Visit sales.alliancehomes.org.uk to see the range of homes available to buy through shared ownership. Properties include the highly energy-efficient Passivhaus homes at Elm Grove.