Woman bought two-bed flat worth £170k after a break-up – how to make buying on your own work

WHEN young people make it on to the property ladder it's usually as part of a couple.
But what if you don't have a significant other?

Since we started this series our inbox has been full of emails from single people struggling to get on the housing ladder.

With the average first-time buyer needing £33,000 and the average house price hitting £207,693 it might seem like an impossible feat for those going alone.

Government schemes like Shared Ownership make it a bit easier, but you co-own the property with the housing association and must pay rent on the bit that's not yours.

You can buy anything from 25 per cent to 75 percent of the property, and you can increase the amount you own over time.

But some developers also offer similar private, shared equity schemes where they allow you to buy only a portion of the home to help you get on the property ladder.

And whilst it means that they will own a stake in your home, there won't be any loan repayments.

This week in the My First Home series, we caught up with Amélie Arras, 26, who used a shared equity scheme to buy a two-bed flat for £168,999 in Chichester after she split up with her boyfriend.

Who said singletons can't go it alone, eh?

When did you buy your home and how much did you pay?

Prior to buying my own home, I lived in a rental flat with my boyfriend. When we split up in November 2017, I decided it was time to buy my own place.
I’d viewed a couple of houses in my price-range beforehand and they all needed so much work.

So, when I saw this flat – which is just three years old – I was delighted!

Unfortunately, the vendors saw how much I loved the property, so when I went to make an offer, they were only prepared to settle for the full asking price of £168,999.

Because the flat already came with a shared equity arrangement, it meant that that value was for only 75 per cent of the flat, so the developers would still own 25 per cent.

I made an offer on the flat in December 2017 and the transaction completed in March 2018.

What's shared equity and how's it different to shared ownership?

The previous owner purchased the property from a housing company called Landspeed, who offer their own shared equity scheme.

When I purchased the flat, they agreed to continue the arrangement with me.

The shared equity scheme is different from a shared ownership because although I have just 75 per cent of the equity, I don’t have to pay rent on the other 25 per cent.

I don't have to get their permission if I want to modify the interior of the flat either and Landspeed can't force me to sell the property.

I can also buy the remaining 25 per cent (or part of it) if I want to.

If I do this, I’ll have to pay the market rate for the percentage I’m buying, so will need to pay for a professional valuation of the property.

If I don’t purchase the additional 25 per cent then I simply pay Landspeed their equity when I come to sell.

Having shared equity doesn't worry me. At the end of the day I paid 75 per cent of the total value, so will be getting 75 per cent when I sell.

How big is your flat and do you live on your own?

The flat has two bedrooms and a living space with kitchen and dining area.

It’s a great size for me, especially as I am used to house-sharing and only having a room to myself.

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At the moment I live on my own. When I first moved in, it took a little bit of getting used to as I have always lived with other people – either my family, or as part of a house-share.

But I'm hoping to get a tenant in to rent the other room, which will be helpful financially.

How did you afford to buy a home?

I moved from France to England in 2011 to improve my English by working in a café.

I loved the life here, so decided to complete my studies in the UK at Chichester University.

I knew I wanted to own my own home eventually, so I continued to work at the cafe while I was at university and save as much money as I could.

Then when I took up my role in marketing in 2014, I was able to save more. At one point, I was putting away £1,000 a month.

When I was ready to buy, I had £20,000 saved.

The downside was during this time I didn’t have much of a social life, both because of the hours I was working and the money I wanted to save.

My social life was working at the café and speaking with staff and customers!

What size deposit did you pay and what mortgage did you get?

I took out a mortgage with NatWest for £154,000 and put down a deposit of £15,000 towards the purchase price.

When I tried to look at different mortgage deals, I found it very complicated.

So I engaged the services of a mortgage advisor, who helped me to find the right mortgage for me. This service cost me £395.