Part Buy, Part Rent

Social housing in the UK takes on many forms. In its most basic form, the Government provides free (or low-cost) housing to people who can't afford it. This sort of housing has received a generally bad image for a number of reasons, but we won't go into them here. Additionally, the Government has also introduced part-buy, part-rent schemes for key workers and first-time buyers. While first-time buyers are easy enough to understand, the term key worker could do with some clarification. A key worker is essentially a blue-collar worker doing essential jobs, such as police officers, firemen, nurses, bus drivers, etc.

Then there is the concept of part-buy, part-rent. It's essentially just as it sounds. The local council sells a portion of a property and retains ownership of the remaining portion, charging the tennant/part-owner rent on the remaining, un-owned value of the property. Owners can then by additional portions of the property, up to 100%, or can move at any time, selling the portion they share while the council will most likely retain ownership of their portion. The partial-owner is also free to do as they wish with the property, for example, put in a new kitchen, but it a) must have the council's okay, b) they must foot the entire cost, and c) any resulting increase in property value would benefit bith you and the council, so the extra work may not be worthwhile if doing it strictly to increase the property value. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but in reality the whole concept is quit simple.

There are also restrictions within the categories of key workers and first-time buyers. The two primary concerns are that you only can apply for schemes in the area you are currently living or working, with long term residents getting priority over new arrrivals, and that your income must fall within a specific bracket. If you earn too little, you won't be able to afford the payments and if you earn too much you should be able to buy a property on the open market.

As some people already know, Mark and myself have been attempting to secure such a place in a new development next to Parsons Green tube station. After much delay and worry, we've been assigned a flat and are currently in the process of trying to buy a 30% (or 35%, we're not actually sure) stake. We have just found out that we've been able to secure a mortgage and are currently set to exchange contracts next week. Mind you, we don't move next week, but the deal should be relatively sealed. We can't really leave our current place, which we will surely be sad to leave, until mid-December, so we're hoping the development is well-behind schedule!