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Friends James & Shaka team up to buy a home together
James and Shaka are friends who couldn't afford to buy on their own. They decided to share buying a home with each other using money inherited from Shaka and a smaller deposit from James. Now with their combined buying power they can afford to buy a home together and share a mortgage.
Buying a home is a massive expense and for most it is completely unachievable on their own. The only way we could do it was after Shaka got an inheritance and I topped up the balance. Only now can we afford to buy a home and share a mortgage and all the other living costs.
Our deposits were different in amounts but we agreed to share the costs and bills between us. The differing amounts invested meant that at the end Shaka would get a greater share of any gain, but I wanted to be sure that what I had in mind was what he did - didn't want to be thinking different things especially as I was doing lots of work to the property to improve and I wanted this to be reflected in my share. We had thought about drawing up an agreement but didn't know what to get or where to go to get it done.
Share a Mortgage offered the perfect solution to this through their Shared Ownership Protection. It clearly set out our share of the property at the beginning and gave an illustration as to what our gain or loss would be if the property went up or down.
It really made sense and set out what we both thought in a fair way. Andrew talked us through each of the points and although we could speak to a solicitor if we wanted, the Shared Ownership Protection was so clear we only had to briefly speak to someone.
I would highly recommend anyone who has bought a property with a friend, family or unmarried to use the Shared Ownership Protection. It makes so much sense and helped Shaka and I plan what our returns will be when we sold. Thank you Andrew for all your help!
David buys with his sister to move out out from mum and dad's
My sister and I decided to buy with each other in North London. We'd been living with our parents and didn't have any other way to get onto the property ladder other than to share a mortgage with each other.
My sister and I have always got along really well and we talked about it for some time. We definitely couldn't afford to buy on our own so buying together just made sense.
Much like living with anyone, you need to have your own space and talk about things if any niggly problems start to creep in. In fact, I'm now married and it is exactly the same.
What I hadn't appreciated was how affordable sharing could be. We split everything 50/50; mortgage, council tax, gas, electricity. What some people spend over a £1,000 on, between us we shared which meant because we both worked, we individually had more money.
Things have changed a lot since then. My sister got married and has now bought a place of her own. I am married and just about to sell the home my sister and I bought to fund buying my family home.
It is amazing how through sharing a mortgage with my sister we were both able to progress on with our careers and our lives; I set up my IT company, we both got married and had children. Even better was that we invested in our home instead of losing money on rent and this has now given us the ability to invest in our family homes.
I can't see how anyone could afford to buy on their own, especially in London with a lack of homes and a completely overpriced market. By sharing a mortgage we were able to get onto the property ladder and progress on with our lives. It was the best thing we ever did!
Laura buys with her friend to beat paying rent
After renting in London for 3.5 years, my friend Gary and I (who were renting together at the time) realised we had spent a whopping £42,000 on rent between us. A shocking amount with nothing to show for it. We both knew we would be in London for a good few years so decided to buy and the only way we could do that and stay in London was to do it jointly.
Gary was a friend from university and we had rented together for 5 years in total so knew we could live together - in making such a big decision to buy it was important to both of us that we would get along. We knew we could.
1. What made you decide to share a mortgage over buying a property on your own?
Affordability - after renting in London for 3.5 years, my friend Gary and I (who were renting together at the time) realised we had spent a whopping £42,000 on rent between us. A shocking amount with nothing to show for it. We both knew we would be in London for a good few years so decided to buy and the only way we could do that and stay in London was to do it jointly.
2. How did you choose the person you were going to share a mortgage with?
Gary was a friend from university and we had rented together for 5 years in total so knew we could live together - in making such a big decision to buy it was important to both of us that we would get along. We knew we could.
3. How did you feel about sharing a mortgage with someone? Were you excited about buying your own place or nervous about how it would work out?
Excited to finally get on the property ladder and have our own place which was an investment - especially in London where prices seem only to go up. We (or at least I)– had some queries about what would happen further down the line if we went our separate ways/got partners but we were good enough friends to know that we would deal with those issues as they arose. I for example took a year out to go to Canada last year and we got a friend in to replace me for the year to cover my side of the mortgage which meant Gary could stay living there.
4. When you bought your property, did you agree when you would sell the property in the future or what you would do if either of your circumstances changed?
I think we roughly discussed this at the time but not what we would do. Now we have come to realise that with house prices rising in London this is an investment for us. Especially with Crossrail coming in 2018 which means the value should increase so whatever happens we decided that we would keep it at least until then. If for any reason we needing to go our separate ways before then, we would simply just rent the flat out as a whole.
5. Whilst living with each other have there been any incidents that have concerned you about your living arrangement and how did these make you feel?
None really. When I decided to go to Canada for a year we had to talk about what would happen with the flat. Gary, understandably didn’t want to live with a stranger in a 2 bed flat and if it came to it said we would just rent out the entire flat and he would move into a bigger house share but as luck would have it – a mutual friend needed somewhere to live so it worked out perfectly.
6. As someone who has shared a mortgage, do you think it was a good idea considering your other choices available like continuing renting or even living with parents?
Most definitely - it has allowed us to get onto the property ladder which is something either of us would have been able to do, especially in London. I would advise caution however as some shared ownerships have not had such a smooth sailing when parties concerned have fallen out for whatever reason so I would 100% to choose who you share with carefully and ensure that you lay out your expectations of what you hope to happen in certain circumstances in advance of purchasing.
7. By sharing a mortgage, do you feel you have become more able to plan your future life etc?
Yes – given that I work in a freelance industry with no pension – this is now going towards my retirement pot and we know that even if we move out ourselves we can rent it out. It’s also great that by no longer renting , we know we don’t have to move house every year when our tenancy runs out! It was the best decision we could have made.
8. Now that you can get "Shared Ownership Protection" to protect you whilst you live at home, would you get it and what in particular do you think it covers that is important?
I would say yes I would get this as it’s all well and good agreeing to certain ‘rules’ verbally when you buy a house with someone but if things go sour then verbal rules don’t have a leg to stand on so as awkward as it may be to get things down on paper in the long run it can only benefit the parties involved.
People go into these things with the best of intentions but ultimately, situations change over time and although you may not think you need to legally document anything, it is a good way of protecting all parties concerned should things head in a different direction.
Kate and her friend buy in London together as neither can buy on their own nor wish to lose thousands in rent
I had been keeping in touch with my best friend Nik and, by coincidence, we both wanted to move to London at the same time as our respective jobs had taken us there.
Both of us were unable, singly, to buy a property in the capital, but we thought we could achieve this if we clubbed together. Neither of us wanted to throw away criminal amounts of money on rent.
We've known each other more than ten years so we both felt pretty sure we'd get on and could trust each other living together. We don't see it as a lifetime prospect - I want to move back to Wales when my job allows this - but in the meanwhile, we're pretty happy and even happier that we'll have something to show for our money when we do eventually sell up.
1. What made you decide to share a mortgage over buying a property on your own?
Neither of us could afford to buy our own property independently. It came about that we both needed somewhere to live in London around the same time so Nik suggested we buy somewhere together as it made so much more financial sense than renting.
2. How did you choose the person you were going to share a mortgage with?
We have been best friends for the last ten years. I owned a property in Cardiff previously and Nik often came and lived with me when he was working in Wales too so we knew we could live together and we were comfortable around each other.
3. How did you feel about sharing a mortgage with someone? Were you excited about buying your own place or nervous about how it would work out?
Neither of us felt nervous about buying together as we trust each other implicitly and are so close, so it was more excitement than anything.
4. When you bought your property, did you agree when you would sell the property in the future or what you would do if either of your circumstances changed?
We both agreed that if our circumstances changed then we would sell the property. We’re also going to write a contract with our solicitor so we have a legal document with an agreement on the repayment of the deposit percentages etc.
5. Whilst living with each other have there been any incidents that have concerned you about your living arrangement and how did these make you feel?
Not at all. It’s a common joke amongst our friends that we’re like “husband and wife”. The irony is that due to our work patterns and demands we’re like ships that pass in the night and we hardly see each other! Maybe that’s why it works so well?!
6. As someone who has shared a mortgage, do you think it was a good idea considering your other choices available like continuing renting or even living with parents?
I think it would be particularly useful if you were buying with someone you didn’t know as well or have such a close relationship with. I’m sure it is particularly helpful if someone needs to leave the agreement or wants to sell the property as this can become messy and stressful.
7. By sharing a mortgage, do you feel you have become more able to plan your future life etc?
It has been brilliant to get back on the property ladder, especially in London, and I could never have done it without Nik and his partner’s help and agreement to buy our current property together. It is such a relief to finally be paying off your own mortgage every month as opposed to someone else’s, and being able to have somewhere you can call your own and decorate to your own taste.
8. Now that you can get "Shared Ownership Protection" to protect you whilst you live at home, would you get it and what in particular do you think it covers that is important?
Yes, although neither of us are planning on staying in the flat and in London forever. Ideally I’d like to move back to Wales when the job opportunity arises, and Nik is freelance so works all over the country…or indeed, world.
He is off to Australia for a year next year but a mutual friend is going to move in and cover his share of the mortgage which is very convenient and a relief for us both. When we’ll sell the flat we don’t know but are very happy there for the time being and with the living arrangements that we have.
Jo and her Facebook friend Mark joined forces to buy a house in London!
When Jo and Mark decided to buy together, they also included Mark's girlfriend in their plans and, using tools including the mortgage affordability calculator on Share a Mortgage's website, found out the value of mortgage they might be able to secure and how long it would take to pay off.
They found that buying was not only affordable, but with Mark's partner sharing with them as well, they could make paying for all the household bills even more affordable. Armed with this knowledge, they approached mortgage lenders for a mortgage for a £432,000 New Build property in London and were able to get a mortgage through a high street bank.
This started them on their road to home ownership...
1. How it started
I was lucky enough to have a large sum for a deposit but was aware that my salary probably wouldn't 'cut it' to buy a property in London.
When my father mentioned Share a Mortgage, I learnt much from the company's website and I started to ask a number of my friends if they'd be interested in sharing a mortgage with me.
I eventually talked to Mark who was a great match for me: he'd a higher salary but my deposit funds were far greater than his.
2. Why choose to share a mortgage and buy rather than continue renting?
It's a no-brainer really. Renting is ultimately a waste of money: you pay all these funds to someone else which you never see again. This way, you get to invest in your own future and you might make a capital gain.
Mark and I continue to see this as a business investment first and foremost - if we can make a large capital gain on selling up in a few years then we will. For me to buy in London by myself would otherwise take many years to achieve or even be impossible.
3. What if it all goes wrong?
Share a Mortgage's Shared Ownership Protection has given us great confidence because we've outlined and clarified every fine detail already and have all our strategies in place just in case something goes wrong. We fully expect to be friends at the end of our arrangement and we know our individual investment is protected regardless
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