I rent a flat in West London with a friend but I really want to buy a place of my own but I don’t want to compromise on the location as I want to stay in this area of London. Will I ever be able to afford to buy and get my first dream home?
Louise Pettit, Acton
Hi Louise, It’s no secret that property prices are high and as time moves on, the trend for them is to keep on increasing in value. Generally speaking, London is by far the most expensive place in the UK to live and West London is no exception to this. Of course, this leaves many people like yourself in a position where there seems to be no chance of owning your own property, let alone your dream home. However, certain affordable housing schemes, such as shared ownership, have a hugely important part to play in allowing residents like yourself to be able to purchase in their hometown.
Although you will still pay a subsidised monthly rent on the proportion of the property that you do not own, you will have all of the benefits of owning your own property. As the initial purchase share can range from anything between 25% to 75% of the full market value of the property, your initial deposit could be as low as 5% of this figure, making saving for the deposit more attainable.
With regards to getting a mortgage, this also means that the amount to be borrowed would be more attainable, as the amount you will need to borrow is significantly reduced when compared to buying on the open market. In the future, depending on your circumstances, you also have the option to purchase further shares in the property, all the way up to 100%. This is known as staircasing and the more shares you buy the amount of rent you pay will reduce too.
Be West, currently offer Waterside Heights – an impressive collection of 65 shared ownership apartments in immensely well-connected West Drayton. These spacious homes, each with private outside space, are set within attractive private fully landscaped communal grounds alongside the Grand Union Canal, Waterside Heights offers a chance for first time buyers to put down roots in an increasingly popular West London suburb.
Affordably priced, one bedroom apartments start from just £87,000, for a 30% share with a full market value of £290,000. Minimum monthly rent is just £465 per month, with deposits from £8,700.