How Do I Go About Buying a Shared Equity Property?

Filed Under (equity mortgage) by admin on 25-04-2010

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My partner and I are lowly first time buyers with a few savings, certainly not enough for a deposit. We rent our slightly shabby 2 bed house, which I long to decorate but don’t want to add value, and are slowly but surely paying off our landlords’ mortgage.

Many times we have been sat in a Bank or Building Society opposite a sympathetic but otherwise unhelpful Mortgage Advisor, who, after informing us that sadly we need a larger deposit and much larger salary, almost runs to the next awaiting couple.

We had heard the terms such as Shared Ownership Mortgage, and Shared Equity Mortgage and basically ignored them, assuming that it was all a con designed to rob us of our rightful place on the property ladder as fully fledged owners. But as time went by and our landlord raised the rent again I decided to put my pre conceptions aside and find out the facts.

My first point of call was our bank, who confirmed that they did not lend on these schemes, so my next contact was a Mortgage Broker. As the Broker explained the difference between the Shared Ownership Mortgage and Shared Equity Mortgage, I found myself listening with interest, then anticipation, and finally excitement; finally there was a way for us to buy our own property.
The Broker explained that if we would consider new builds we could buy a property without a deposit. Initially we would buy 75% of the property value, and buy the remainder over ten years. Because only 75% was required, our salaries were sufficient, and best of all no deposit was required. Apparently the Builder Shared Equity Mortgage has been around for years, to say I was overjoyed is an understatement.

Within a few hours our Shared Equity Mortgage had been agreed in principal, we had vital information such the maximum we could borrow, and the monthly payments (which was not much more than our current rent). That weekend this couple viewed 3 developments (we actually had a choice), and we were treated with respect by the sales team, after all, we had our finances agreed! We settled on a gorgeous 2 bed terraced with a downstairs loo, heaven!
The moral of this story is that if you talk to the right person, who knows the market and who is familiar with the latest schemes, whether it be Shared Equity Mortgage, Shared Ownership Mortgage, or Open Market Homebuy you can have your very own home to decorate and slowly but surely pay off your own mortgage.

How the Shared Ownership & Shared Equity Housing Market Looks in 2009

Filed Under (equity mortgage) by admin on 01-04-2010

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With all the doom and gloom over housing market, you might be surprised to know that this is a fantastic time to buy a house via a Shared Ownership & Shared Equity scheme. Even if you have bad credit. You can get a great mortgage deal with the following lenders……

Let’s look at a few high street lenders and an adverse (bad credit) lender that have shared ownership mortgage and shared equity mortgage deals available in today’s market.

Abbey are very selective in which developers they have on there approved panel. There rates and fees are similar to the two below, but if your developer is not on the panel then you have no option but to try another lender.

Nationwide accept every developer. They also allow brokers to reserve the rates immediately. Now that may not sound like a big deal but in todays fast pace ever changing mortgage market that is crucial. There tracker rates for shared ownership and shared equity mortgages are competitive, if you are prepared to take a risk on an ever fluctuating Bank of England base rate.

Halifax this is the lender that likes to say yes, they have some of the most competitive mortgage products available. Each application is assessed on an individual basis, this formed around property type and location, employment and ongoing commitments and credit history.

You still need to put a minimum 10% deposit down dependent on credit score for shared ownership purchases. For shared equity mortgages you can secure a 100% mortgage for your share.

100% Bad credit mortgage lender but ONLY for Shared Ownership purchases. Yes there is still one out there but no widely know to the public. They assess each and every case based on its individual merits. It’s based around affordability and your ability to pay the mortgage. The main criteria is base upon your ability to maintain the loan, if your gross income is over £25,000 50% of your net monthly income is calculated towards your monthly mortgage payment and rental commitment reducing to 45% for income that are less than £25,000. This Shared Ownership mortgage product is a LIBOR rated tracker product. Currently you must not have any more than three de-merits (County Court Judgments, Defaults, and Late payments)
It clearly going to be very difficult for some people to save for a deposit when times are hard and saving seems impossible.

100% mortgages for properties for sale on the open market are the last thing on lenders minds whilst the money markets are still contracting. Maybe a Shared Ownership property purchased through a housing association or a new build shared equity house is for you.