Mind the Gap and Live in London
Taking a Gap Year usually means traipsing through the jungles of Asia and South America, surfing the Pacific and relaxing on beaches in far-flung destinations. But if you’re taking a level-headed look at your career and future living arrangements, and are angling to live and work in London, but fear you may not have the means necessary, then there is one only great tip we can offer you - Shared Ownership.
Properties available for Shared Ownership in London are perfect for setting down roots in the capital. London can be an overwhelming place: you have to consider where to live, how to live and make ends meet while you’re enjoying everything the capital offers. But many first-time investors and students, often point out to the challenge of solving their accommodation issue.
Well, shared ownership is an exciting investment concept that guarantees buyers a roof over the head, the potential of putting down roots - and an investment that will mature in the capital’s hot property market.
5 Facts on Shared Ownership
Shared Ownership: Understanding what shared ownership is about will help increase your chances of securing an incredible time in London. Shared ownership is where a buyer purchases between a quarter and 75 per cent of a property. So it offers an affordable way to live as you don’t have to commit to a 100 per cent mortgage. As for the other part of the property, you pay subsidised rent usually to a housing association.
Getting Help: Nearly 50,000 property buyers have utilised the shared ownership property route, and also turned to an annual £7 billion Government fund that helps first-time investors in the concept. You can also access the Mayor London’s website which advises on available properties to buy in selected neighbourhoods.
Depressing the Deposit: The fact you don’t have to stump up a full mortgage, means that your deposit for a ‘shared’ property can be as low as £3,000, rather than the large 20 per cent usually asked of when applying for a mortgage.
Buying More: You can ‘staircase’ your way to owning more of your home - a term meaning that you can increase the portion of the home you own, and reduce the level of rent you pay.
Selling On: As with any mortgage, you have the option to sell your shared owned property whenever you want. And given London never falls out of trend on the property market, either on the UK or global scene, the probability is that your property will have increased in value since the time you bought it. So you can truly call yourself an investor and a property owner!
What’s the Catch?
Shared ownership properties - whether they are apartments or 3-bedroomed houses - are leasehold. Most of the homes will be new builders and, just as you would with private property, if you buy an apartment, you will usually have to put some extra cash away for annual maintenance of the building.
Eligibility: If your household income is less than £90,000 while working in London, then you comfortably fit the criteria to apply for a Shared Ownership mortgage. Priority for disadvantaged groups or those with local ties to the area may well apply for priority property ownership.
Availability: There are scores of properties - from apartments to houses - across the capital that are available under shared ownership schemes and that fall within your budgets.
Mind the Gap
A choice: a year of freedom abroad or getting on the property ladder at an early stage? The options are obviously yours, but the earlier you get on the ladder and start zeroing in on those ambitions, the more likelier you’ll have time to consider travelling abroad and discovering new cultures in the not too distant future.
At least with a shared element of a property and living in London, that’s two must-do things off the bucket list already!