Shared Ownership helped me buy a home in my local area
After renting for 20 years and unable to buy a property on the open market, Joanne wondered whether she would ever be able to get a foot on the housing ladder.
Joanne knew that she wanted to remain in the local area where her children are at school, and after looking into Shared Ownership as an option, Joanne found her perfect property through Thrive Homes in South Oxhey, where she now lives with her partner and two children.
“I’ve got a lot of family in the area we have moved to, and our children are in a school nearby. We’ve lived in Hertfordshire for 10 years, so it was important for us to remain in the catchment area of our children’s school and be local for work.”
Beginning the search
After deciding on Shared Ownership as an option, Joanne began her search by looking online and keeping a close eye on what was coming up.
“Thrive’s website was really helpful as you could see which properties were available and which were coming up shortly.”
After finding the perfect property online as part of Thrive's Refurbishment Programme, Joanne then began the process of buying her Shared Ownership property.
Shared Ownership properties aren’t just given to anyone – there are checks in place to ensure that you’re a family in need, this included income but also whether we have family in the area as they’re keen to keep these houses in the local area and they also look at what you could afford.
Joanne, Thrive Customer
Putting your stamp on it
Now Joanne has moved in with her family, she’s looking forward to fully putting her stamp on the property and making the house a home, a luxury she hadn’t been able to do before whilst renting in the private sector.
“Being in a rented property we couldn’t even paint the walls. It’s so nice being able to do little things around the house.”
Joanne has been keen to recommend Shared Ownership properties as an option to others. “I would recommend Shared Ownership and I have done already. Just make sure you do lots of research and find what is right for you and your family.”
The path to owning your own home
Some of the positives of the property for Joanne included the location and garden, as well as the real option to begin saving to one day fully own the property, which wouldn’t have been possible on the open market.
“Really with house prices going up and with rental prices also increasing, this was an opportunity to get a property that could potentially one day be our own, and we would have a secure household compared to renting where there is much less security.”
“With the money we were paying for rent we were only ever able to rent a flat, whereas with Shared Ownership we’ve managed to part buy a house which we couldn’t afford to rent. It’s opened up that we actually have a house which we wouldn’t have been able to secure any other way.”
If you would like to find out more about Thrive’s Shared Ownership properties, please visit https://www.thrivehomes.org.uk/find-a-home/shared-ownership/