Yorkshire couple discover delights of shared equity

The dilemma of knowing this is the right time to buy and the lack of a sufficient deposit, coupled with the thought of hundreds of pounds going down the drain in rental costs, has caused two house hunters to have endless sleepless nights!

Professional couple, Jamie Ham a Business Analyst and partner Rebecca Sherratt a nurse, from Headingley in Leeds, knew they wanted to buy a home after renting for the last eight years with a combined rental cost of £800 per month.

“We knew with the bottoming out of the property market, now is the best time to buy opposed to yet another year of renting and pouring our money down the drain. But we also knew that we would never be able to obtain a 100 percent mortgage. We went to a Miller Homes’ development in Leeds to see what type of house we could possibly afford in a few years time, never imagining we would be able to buy now” said 26 year-old Jamie.

It was there the couple discovered the benefits of shared equity. With shared equity, the buyer is the only person or couple on the deeds therefore owns 100 percent of the property unlike shared ownership schemes. Jamie and Rebecca were over the moon to discover they could afford to buy a two bedroom apartment, using the housebuilder’s own shared equity scheme. The couple arranged the finance for 75 percent of the purchase price with Miller Homes providing a 0% APR loan for the remaining 25 per cent. Jamie and Rebecca repay the loan by paying back 25% of the value of their home when they sell or transfer it, or after 10 years – whichever comes soonest.

Jamie continued: “We had no idea these type of assistance schemes existed. But it is fantastic it has meant everything. We finally have a place of our own and not have to worry about the pit falls of renting, without the shared equity scheme I’m sure we would be still renting now!”

Miller Homes has now joined forces with the Government to also offer buyers the HomeBuy Direct initiative. HomeBuy Direct is designed to help individuals, partners and families with a combined income of under £60,000 and struggling to raise the funds required to meet today’s strict lending criteria.

Under HomeBuy Direct, house hunters purchase 100% of their home, paying 70% of the value – with a developer, such as Miller Homes, and the Government equally funding the remaining 30%. This 30% equity loan only becomes repayable after 25 years or when the customer sells their home – whichever comes first.

“By using shared equity we are still able to continue with our lifestyle and we were also able to afford to buy furniture – which was a huge benefit! If it hadn’t have been for Miller Homes and the informative chats with Maxine, the sales adviser, I really don’t think we would be in our own home. The whole process was painless, just a couple of calls and the rest was taken care of.

“Buying a house through shared equity means, simply, that it’s ours, somewhere to call home and have friends and family over,” concluded Jamie.

Jan Hanaby, area sales manager for family-owned housebuilder, Miller Homes said: “It is quite disheartening to know there are couples out there like Jamie and Rebecca desperate to get on to the property ladder but are totally unaware of the help they can receive.

“With new homes being much more affordable now the shared equity schemes are an ideal opportunity to begin climbing the property ladder. I would urge anyone in a similar situation to Jamie and Rebecca to call into your nearest Miller Homes development you never know it could change your life!”

For further information on Homebuy Direct, visit millerhomes.co.uk/promo/homebuy/. Alternatively to find your nearest Yorkshire development offering HomeBuy Direct log on to millerhomes.co.uk.