Shared equity

Many local authorities and house builders offer shared equity homes or shared ownership schemes. For those struggling to afford a home shared equity could be an option. The advantage of this strategy is that you only need to qualify for your percentage of the property on top of this you are given the freedom to purchase the remainder of the property as you can afford it.

Other schemes worth considering are the Flexishare scheme and the Open Market HomeBuy Initiative.

Purely Mortgages have exclusive deals with Advantage, (the lending arm of Morgan Stanley) in the Flexishare market. The Flexishare scheme allows you to borrow more money against your income making that first property much easier to obtain. With this scheme, the lender shares in the equity the property, so if your property value increases so does the loan.

The government is also giving you a helping hand by allocating £230 million to the Open Market HomeBuy initiative. They have teamed up with 4 major lenders and are providing mortgages of up to 75% of the value of the property. The remaining 25% is split between the lender and the government. The difference between this scheme and shared equity is that the purchaser has sole ownership of the property.

With so many different options you need an expert who can give you impartial advice and point you in the right direction. Contact Purely Mortgages now, on 0800 422 00 33 or request a callback.

Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.