Earlier this year Claudette Blair, 55, was living in a privately rented flat in Wellingborough with her 14-year-old son. She then applied for a shared ownership home that was being built in Wellingborough and after hearing that she had been successful, she received the keys to her new two-bedroom home.
Claudette told us: “Following a split with my partner, I moved into a small two-bedroom flat with no outdoor space. I thought that if I was going to pay rent I might as well become an owner too. I didn’t want to pay rent on something that wasn’t mine and thought that shared ownership was ideal as I would have struggled to get a mortgage at my age. I would rather pay a lower amount of rent on a home I part owned than pay rent to a private landlord.”
Once she knew that she had been successful in getting a new build, Claudette was excited to see the progress of her new home being built. “I would often go for walks to see how it was going. It was really exciting to see it being built and knowing that it was mine. I received my keys on the 3rd July and I’m slowly moving in. I get my new carpets at the end of the month and I have a garden which is really exciting. There is no better feeling than to have your own home – it’s a new start for me.
‘Shared ownership was ideal as I would struggle to get a mortgage at my age’ – Claudette Blair
“I would tell anyone in a similar situation to mine, who may not be able to get a high mortgage for whatever reason, or who doesn’t want to rent, to apply for shared ownership. It’s nice to know that you won’t be forced out at any time. In my situation, I am really pleased to have gone down this line and know that whatever I have, has gone into my own home”.
Shared Ownership offers people the chance to buy a share of their home by getting a mortgage of between 25% and 75% of the home’s value and pay rent on the remaining share. Later on, they can buy more shares if they can afford to – this is called staircasing. You can find more information on shared ownership at greatwellliving.org.uk.