Shared ownership offers better value in Newham
Genesishomes’ three developments in Newham offer a real bargain to those priced out of both the private sales and rental markets.
Apartments at Forbes House in Stratford, St Luke’s Square in Canning Town, and Pier Road in Royal Docks, offer the security of home ownership at a significantly reduced cost per month compared to renting or purchasing a property on the open market.
The average rent for a one-bedroom property in Newham – one of the most up-and-coming areas in London, thanks to multi-billion-pound investment in anticipation of the 2012 London Olympics – is £836 per month*. Thanks to Genesishomes’ part-ownership scheme, under which buyers purchase a minimum 25% share of a property and pay rent on the balance, the cost of a one-bedroom apartment at Forbes House could be as little as £680 per month – a saving of nearly 20%!
This figure is based on the projected outgoings on one of Forbes House’s one-bedroom apartments, combining a typical mortgage on 25% of the full market value of £161,000, the subsidised rent payable on the remaining share, and a service charge.** Buyers therefore benefit from lower monthly outgoing costs while enjoying the security and investment of ownership.
At St Luke’s Square, the monthly outgoings on a one-bedroom apartment is estimated to be £734 – a saving of £102 per month, or 12.2%, over renting.
Two-bedroom apartments are similarly attractive. With tenants of two-bedroom properties in Newham paying an average rent of £1,071*, two-bedroom apartments at Pier Road have estimated outgoings of £853 per month, based on a full market price of £215,560. Similar flats in St Luke’s Square and Forbes House will cost a projected £944 per month and £1,051 per month respectively.
The cost may be small, but the properties aren’t. At Forbes House, two-bedroom apartments offer up to 922 square feet of living space while apartments at St Luke’s Square measure up to 667 square feet. A selection of the 39 two-bedroom apartments at Pier Road have separate kitchens and even, in some cases, a separate laundry room.
All Genesishomes’ Newham properties have been designed to accommodate luxury-scale furniture: an oversized sofa and king-size bed will easily fit in the living room and bedroom, while spacious decked balconies are big enough for dining al fresco. The high-spec finishes include high-quality flooring, fitted carpets in the bedrooms, fully fitted kitchens, an Indesit oven, a hob and an extractor hood.
All of the apartments at Forbes House, Pier Road and St Luke’s Square are available through shared ownership, a scheme which has been designed to help fist time buyers get on the property ladder. The scheme is open to anyone who doesn’t already own a property and is unable to buy a home on the open market. You can purchase between 25% and 75% and you can increase your share at any time, all the way to 100% and outright ownership. Their total household income must be less than £60,000 per annum and they will need savings of around £3,500 to cover moving and legal costs.
Prices start at just £36,250 for a 25% share in a one-bedroom apartment at Forbes House, based on a full market value of £145,000; £45,000 for a 25% share in a one-bedroom apartment at St Luke’s Square, based on a full market value of £180,000; and £53,890 for a 25% share in a one-bedroom apartment at Pier Road, based on a full market value of £215,560.
For more information, please visit: genesishomes.org.uk
*according to Nestoria.co.uk
** Estimated total at time of going to press, price may vary
