Emma, 34, is a primary school teacher and a foster carer who provides respite for children in Dorset. She's currently in her 7th year of teaching and absolutely loves it! In Emma's spare time, she loves going out on her road bike, who she calls Bert!
Being a solo buyer, Emma was extremely excited to be able to buy a property of her own. Emma's shared ownership journey started in 2017, when she was in her second year of teaching and was living with her parents. She had been saving as much as she could each month, trying to build up enough money for a deposit on a property. With banks ramping up the affordability criteria, it was proving difficult for her to find a lender who would provide a suitable mortgage. That’s when she came across the prospect of shared ownership.
She said "The shared ownership scheme was my ticket onto the property ladder! It allowed me to purchase my very first home – a beautiful flat in Poundbury. I was able to obtain a mortgage for 45% share of the flat. When I considered the monthly finances of the mortgage repayments and rent element, it was clear that the combined cost was actually cheaper than renting a flat."
After s few years, Emma was successful in staircasing. Staircasing means that you buy more shares of the property over time. She had managed to save enough to buy an extra 20% share of the flat – taking her up to 65% share in total. She commented: "This process was so much easier than I anticipated! Aster and my solicitor did most of the work – I just needed to provide some details about the property and my finances."
Another couple of years passed, and Emma decided she wanted to move into a new home with a garden, however was set on buying another shared ownership property in Poundary. In the four years Emma had owned the flat, she made a good profit due to the rise in house process.
Within a couple of months, she had a buyer and the sale went through smoothly and she moved out at the beginning of August 2021. When searching for her next property, she found a batch of new build shared ownership homes through Aster that had been newly released. These houses were extremely popular and many people had expressed an interest. Emma was able to reserve a 3-bedroom house, with a garden.
Emma bought a 60% share of the property and within 9 weeks she had the keys to her beautiful new home! Emma was over the moon and explained: "I would not be able to have afforded such a lovely home if I hadn’t embarked on this shared ownership journey."