Shopping for a Shared Ownership Mortgage

What is a shared ownership mortgage?  If you are still in the process of saving up to buy a home, why not take advantage of a shared ownership mortgage? With a shared ownership mortgage, you do not need to have the entire amount of money needed to purchase a particular property that you are eyeing. With a shared ownership mortgage, it will be like owning a share of a stock, only you get full rights to use it. Thus, if you have a home that is under a shared ownership mortgage, you just need to buy a certain percentage of the share for the property. The remaining portion of the share will be owned by a housing association from where you have purchased the property, and this part will also correspond to the monthly rent that you need to pay. So, it is like partly owning and partly renting a property, but the good thing is that you get full occupancy rights.

Can I eventually own the property that is under a shared ownership mortgage?  Yes, you can definitely own any property that is under a shared ownership mortgage. This is actually the advantage of a shared ownership mortgage. There is a 99-year window in which you can purchase the property, which means that you literally have a lifetime to buy the shares for the rest of the property that you do not yet own.

Are there any disadvantages to a shared ownership mortgage?  Because of the numerous benefits working to a borrower's advantage, the one downside to a shared ownership mortgage is that this type of home ownership scheme is quite difficult to come by. The demand for this type of mortgage is high and not all areas are offering shared ownership mortgages.

How can you shop for the best shared ownership mortgage plan?  Housing associations, housing trusts, cooperatives and other similar associations are the ones who are offering shared ownership mortgages. Because of the great amount of leeway given to those who are benefiting from a shared ownership mortgage, investors and lenders do not easily or commonly give out this type of loan. However, you just need to be resourceful enough to be able to shop for the best shared ownership mortgage.