As London rents began to soar after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted, Joe Lywood and Floss Buckle’s landlord told them the price of their one-bedroom Battersea flat was going up by more than £800pcm.
The horrified couple, both 27, agreed that they needed a more secure living arrangement and decided to pool their resources and try to buy. Like many other first-time buyers, they had been priced out of the open market, so they looked into shared ownership.
Buyers have been purchasing shares of homes since the Seventies, buying as much as they can afford and then paying rent on the remainder of the property.
Since the Government’s Help to Buy scheme ended in March, it is the only mainstream option for buyers who can’t afford to buy outright. It gives them the chance to own a stake in a London flat for less than £100,000.
As the housing crisis bites, shared ownership has become an increasingly crucial category in the Evening Standard’s New Homes Awards — the winners will be announced in September — but it is not without its controversies.
Last month the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee launched an inquiry into how affordable shared ownership truly is. It will look at the impact of rising interest rates, how feasible it is for shared owners to increase their stake, the cost of service charges, and how easy it is to resell a shared ownership property.
But for Floss and Joe, shared ownership has been a great success. To prepare for home ownership they moved out of their central London flat, which was costing them £3,000 a month, and into a much cheaper annexe in far-flung Cockfosters so they could boost their savings.
Joe, who works in data sales, and Floss, a music artist manager, then opted to buy a 30 per cent share of a two-bedroom flat at Kidbrooke Village, which is between Blackheath and Eltham.
The development is a reboot of the old Ferrier Estate and, when complete, will include about 5,000 new homes. Nearly 400 of these will be shared ownership properties from housing association L&Q. There will also be shops, green spaces and leisure facilities. Trains from Kidbrooke station reach London Bridge or Waterloo East in less than half an hour.
Floss and Joe spent £153,750 on their share of the flat, putting down a £23,100 deposit. The couple now pay out just under £1,600pcm, including £600 on their mortgage, £670 on rent and £280 on service charge.
The couple love their airy, spacious apartment, and the on-site supermarket, pub and food stalls.
“A priority for us was also safety, as Floss has always commuted and walked home from the train station, and she wanted to continue doing so,” said Joe. “The train station is actually within the complex, so it’s a short walk home through the development.”
Homes at L&Q at Kidbrooke Village start at £101,250 for a 25 per cent share of a one-bedroom apartment and £120,625 for a 25 per cent share of a two-bedroom property (lqhomes.com/kidbrookevillage/find-a-home).
Shared-ownership homes to buy now
If it’s green space you crave then Square Roots Kingston could be the answer, as it’s set moments from the gates of the 2,500-acre Richmond Park.
This low-rise redbrick development (brought to you by luxury developer London Square) has 52 shared-ownership flats, each with a balcony or terrace.
The site is pet-friendly and features a garden, children’s play area and EV charging points.
Trains from Norbiton Station, which is an 11-minute walk away, will get you to Waterloo within half an hour, and Kingston upon Thames’s shops, bars, restaurants and cafés are just over a mile away.
Prices start at £107,500 for a 25 per cent share of a one-bedroom flat. The rent will come in at £739pcm, plus service charge of £114pcm.
A 25 per cent share of a two-bedroom flat starts at £136,250, with rent costing £937pcm and a service charge of £150pcm (squareroots.co.uk).
If you’re looking for a complete change of scene there are also shared-ownership options in commuter-friendly locations. Whiteley Meadows is a development set just south of the South Downs, making it handy for day trips to the south coast or the New Forest.
Botley train station is 1.5 miles away, and services to Waterloo take around an hour and a half.
For Cathryn Samuels, 31, and Tarryn Williams, 27, buying a share of a three-bedroom home at Whiteley Meadows last year has meant being able to provide their four-year-old rescue dog Percy with his own garden. Cat, an emergency helpline operator, and Tarryn, a teacher, moved in with Tarryn’s mother to save up for a deposit.
“Even though both of us have good jobs, with the current economic climate we knew we’d be looking for a shared-ownership property,” said Cat.
“Without using a scheme like that, we wouldn’t have had a hope of buying our own home for several more years.”
Once completed, the Whiteley Meadows development will include three schools and two nurseries. There are already shops, restaurants and a cinema at the nearby Whiteley Shopping Centre, plus lovely countryside walks on the doorstep.
Most of the current phase of shared-ownership homes at Whiteley Meadows are sold, but the three-bedroom showhome is still available, priced at £164,250 for a 45 per cent share.
Rent comes in at £460.05pcm, and there are also estate and managing fees totalling £46.56pcm. A new tranche of homes will launch later this year (starthurhomes.com).
If you are hoping for a more suburban vibe, you could consider a home at Origin Housing’s Harrow and Wealdstone Heights, which is in Zone 5 on the Bakerloo line.
The development is close to several recreation grounds and a leisure centre, as well as a high street with a good range of shops, supermarkets, cafés and restaurants.
Prices start from £81,250 for a 25 per cent share of a one-bedroom flat, and £103,750 for a 25 per cent share of a two-bedroom apartment (originhousingsales.co.uk/harrow-wealdstone-heights).
The regeneration of Wembley has created a modern neighbourhood tucked just beyond the North Circular, with fast Tube links into town.
And first-time buyers can pick up a one-bedroom flat at the just-completed Arc Wembley, which has one-bedroom flats costing from £91,875 for a 25 per cent share, and from £106,875 for a 25 per cent share of a two-bedroom apartment.
The development is right by Wembley Park station, and has a communal garden for residents (networkhomessales.co.uk).
You could also live the high life in the 35-storey Alta at Consort Place, in Canary Wharf.
The finishing touches are being made to the tower now. Prices start at £135,250 for a 25 per cent share of a one-bedroom flat, or £161,000 for a 25 per cent share of a two-bedroom apartment.
The building is a short walk away from Canary Wharf’s shops, restaurants, bars and multiple transport links, and the homes offer amazing views across the capital.
The site itself has a café, a communal hall and a health centre, and there’s outdoor space, too (latimerhomes.com).
