Interview: Shared Ownership with Origin Homes

Interview: Shared Ownership with Origin Homes

Off By Ed Hanna

“We wanted a home that we could call ours, and shared ownership allowed us to realise that dream.”

Name: Carmen & Joseph Shadbolt
Purchased: 3 bedroom home with garden
Deposit: £10,000
Approx monthly costs: £1,274
Mortgage: £501
Service Charge: £43
Rent: £730

Having moved back in with her mum, Carmen, her husband and their two children wanted a home to themselves, with separate bedrooms for their kids to grow up in.

Through shared ownership, Carmen and Joseph were able to buy a 25% share of a 3 bedroom home at Origin Housing’s QE2, in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. The home is close to Hertfordshire’s QEII Hospital, set within large open spaces and idyllic surrounding woodland.

“I have always lived in Welwyn Garden City and I now work for the local council, plus my kids are settled in nearby schools, so I was really desperate to stay in the area. I saw the demolition of the old hospital and the new development go up, and as soon as we found out that some shared ownership properties would be available we gave Origin our details.”

Carmen heard about shared ownership through friends who had also used the scheme to get onto the property ladder. QE2 was the first new-build development her and Joseph had looked into.

“It was fantastic moving into a brand new home. Everything from the immaculate kitchen, the generous sized bedrooms and the large garden make it perfect for us. Origin went that bit beyond other developers to ensure the finish of the home was top quality.’

Because they got in the process so early, Carmen and Joseph were able to see the fixtures and fittings before they were in place and make adaptions to suit their family’s needs.

“We wanted to change the flooring of the home to carpet, to make it more child-friendly, and the team at Origin could not have been more helpful when we brought in specialists to measure the space and install our chosen flooring.”

“With it being a new build there were some unforeseeable delays, however Origin Housing did a great job at communicating them to us.”

With high property prices in the area, shared ownership was the only way Carmen and her family could afford to buy in Welwyn Garden City. With only a 5% deposit required, the amount they needed to save was considerably lower than on the open market.

Carmen and her husband plan to staircase to 100% as their kids grow older and childcare costs reduce.

Find out more here: https://www.originhousing.org.uk/