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In 2015, Matt and Jake took the plunge and bought a 43.3% share in a new home in Heaton Moor, Stockport.
They were keen to stay living in the area close to family, but as first time buyers, buying a home in this area just wasn’t going to be possible, that’s until they discover Shared Ownership. Matt and Jake hadn’t considered buying a home with Shared Ownership until a family member suggested that they should look into the scheme.
Matt said “thanks to Shared Ownership we were able to put down a deposit of £10,000 and buy our own home.
“When we first bought our home, a 43% share was the most that we could afford, when you buy your first home, you’re pretty skint!”
Shared Ownership allowed Matt and Jake to take their first step onto the property ladder, but their home ownership journey didn’t stop there, 7 years down the line, they found themselves in a position where they were able to buy the remaining 57% through a process called staircasing, meaning they would own their home outright.
Matt said “because the house was increasing in value we knew that if we were to sell it we’d be able to make more money on it, if we owned a higher share.
“When we first bought our home, we hadn’t even considered staircasing. We knew it existed but didn’t think about it again until about 5 or 6 years later when we realised we could afford to do so. Once we realised we could afford to buy our home outright we thought, let’s go for it.
“It meant that we owned 100% of the property, so when we sold it, we profited from the full value of the house.”
Matt described his experience of staircasing with Plumlife as “exceptional”. Matt told us “we were given all the information we needed, the process was easy to understand and Fran (Sales Services Specialist) kept on top of everything. Fran got the right people involved and even when we encountered issues with our solicitors, Fran helped us push the purchase through, she really went above and beyond to make it work for us.”
Matt and Jake have already recommended Shared Ownership to several people following their experience. Shared Ownership is a brilliant option for those looking to get onto the property ladder, but may be unable to do so on the open market. With Shared Ownership you can buy the share that you can afford and pay rent on the remainder, with the option to buy more shares in the future through staircasing.
Matt told us “we initially worried that because we were paying part rent we’d feel like we had a landlord, it wasn’t like this at all, we never felt looked in on. It always felt like our home, we had that mutual trust with Plumlife.”
If you’re looking to take your first step onto the property ladder you can view our shared ownership developments here. Or if you’ve already bought your home and you’re ready to take the next step like Matt and Jake, click here to find out more about the staircasing process.
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