Published March 20th, 2019
A leading social housing provider in Cornwall has handed over the keys to the owner of its 400th shared ownership home.
Liz Dalley, aged 48, has recently purchased a shared ownership home in Bodmin from St Austell-based Ocean Housing.
Liz lives with her daughter Jessica, aged 18, and is delighted to finally be able to say she is a home owner.
She said, “I wanted somewhere for myself and my daughter to call home, somewhere we could make our own without the worry of having the property sold from underneath us.”
Commenting on the purchase, Liz said, “Shared ownership was totally new to me, it was only when my mum encouraged me to book a viewing with Ocean Housing that I first got an idea of how the scheme worked.”
Shared ownership provides an affordable first step onto the property ladder for many people who cannot afford to buy their own home outright. A share of the property can typically be purchased from 40% with Ocean Housing, with rent paid on the remaining share.
Households with an income of less than £80,000 are eligible to purchase a home through the shared ownership scheme. The deposit is often less than an open market home, with the usual requirement being around 5% of the share value.
Since the start of the scheme, more than 200,000 shared ownership properties have been purchased in the UK, helping more and more people like Liz.
“Home ownership had never been on my radar,” Liz said. “I always imagined high deposits and huge mortgages that were out of my reach. This scheme has made buying my first home possible, and I would recommend it to anyone. I found the whole process very simple and the sales team at Ocean Housing were there to help and support at every step of the buying process.”
Ocean Group’s board member, Jonathan Adlington, retired senior partner at Trowers & Hamlins solicitors, was involved in drafting the very first shared ownership legal agreement more than 30 years ago. He said, “I’m delighted to see how successful shared ownership has been, and how it has helped so many people enjoy the benefits of owning their own home.
“Cornwall has relatively low average incomes, with many households on minimum wage and temporary seasonal hours, so saving a large deposit and getting a mortgage to buy a home can be really difficult.
“The initial objective of the shared ownership scheme was to tackle the issue of lack of affordable housing, to help those with low incomes get onto the property ladder – and I’m so pleased to see this is still being achieved.”
