- 08 November 2023
In August 2023, the current Bank of England base rate rose to its highest level in 15 years in order to control inflation. For many, this has meant a big increase in interest rates on mortgages, causing stress and frustration as monthly payments fluctuate and rise. This can end up becoming very costly if you have purchased your home outright.
In order to protect yourself and your family from unexpected changes like this, particularly as a first-time buyer, it is worth considering alternative methods of buying your home.
With Shared Ownership, you only purchase a certain percentage of your home – usually between 10% and 75%. This means that your monthly mortgage payments are only based on the percentage you have purchased rather than the cost of the entire home. This makes Shared Ownership a very popular and affordable way to buy a home, as your repayments will always be lower than traditional home buying no matter what the interest rates are.
As well as this, the initial deposit needed to buy a home is much lower than usual with Shared Ownership, and often lower than the cost of renting too. Again, the deposit is only reflective of the percentage of the home you are buying, and often your deposit can be as little as only 5% of that. As an example, you could pay as little as £3,750 deposit on a home worth £300,000 if you are buying a 25% share.
You will have the opportunity to staircase and own a higher percentage of your property, which will be reflected in your monthly mortgage payments, but again this will always be lower than the cost of buying a property outright.
Sound good? We have Shared Ownership homes available across the North East and North Yorkshire! Take a look at our homes (one of which could soon be yours!) and don’t forget you can contact us if you have any further questions on the scheme.