THE AFFORDABLE ROUTE TO HOMEOWNERSHIP Kevin Sims, Director of Sales and Marketing, SO Resi AFFORDABLE HOMES
As research reveals that the cost of renting jumped by 12% in the UK, the largest year-on-year increase on record, there is an urgent need for more affordable housing options for first time buyers stuck in the rental trap. This message has never been more pertinent than during National Home Buying Week, a week-long initiative designed to help first time buyers on their journey to becoming homeowners. At SO Resi, we take pride in our mission to create affordable housing for first time buyers through two flagship initiatives – shared ownership and Rent to Buy. Shared ownership allows buyers to purchase a share of a property, paying a mortgage on the part that is owned by them, and a monthly rental payment on the share they do not own. Shares start from as little as 25% of the full value of the property, with deposits starting from just 5% of the share. Taking an apartment at our SO Resi Bracknell scheme as an example, a deposit could be as low as £3,825 for a one bedroom apartment, available for £76,500 for a 25% share, with a full market value of £255,000. There is also the option to buy further shares using a process called “staircasing”. Our flagship scheme, SO Resi Plus, allows buyers to staircase at a gradual pace by purchasing an additional 1% share each year. Today, we are here to debunk some myths surrounding shared ownership and to explain why education surrounding affordable housing schemes is more essential than ever before. We receive a fair share of questions from customers who are interested in learning all about shared ownership. For example, our customers often ask who is eligible for the scheme, as a common misconception is that shared ownership is limited to young first time buyers, or those looking to buy an apartment in a city. The truth is that shared ownership is open to anyone who cannot afford to purchase a property on the open market. This means that anyone with a household income below £80,000
SO Resi Bracknell
SO Resi Cambourne
SO Flexi Slough
(£90,000 in London), and who is not already a homeowner, might be eligible to apply for the scheme. We offer a range of shared ownership apartments and homes, including SO Resi Cambourne, with three and four bedroom houses alongside a range of apartments. Here, many of our buyers are growing families who have been stuck in the rental trap for too long, and are now ready to place a foot on the property ladder, as well as couples looking for extra space in a more rural setting. At the end of September, we also launched 42 homes at SO Resi Hendon Waterside. There is a mixture of homes, including two and three bedroom duplexes, which will offer families and young professionals the unique chance to have a spacious home at a more accessible price point in the capital.
This year, we also launched our first Rent to Buy development, SO Flexi Slough. Rent to Buy can provide a foothold in the journey from renting to homeownership, offering tenants the opportunity to rent a property at SO Flexi Slough at below market value for two years, allowing them to save a deposit to purchase the property at the end of the tenancy. During the summer, we launched 55 one and two bedroom homes at SO Flexi Slough, where we saw unprecedented demand with over 400 enquiries from potential tenants. Providing truly accessible routes to homeownership continues to be at the heart of everything we do at SO Resi. To find out more about shared ownership and rent to buy, visit us online at soresi.co.uk
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