We would have needed to TRIPLE our deposit to buy £245k home without ‘game changer’ government scheme – how you can too

GETTING on the property ladder isn’t easy, but Caitlin managed to bag her first home with a much smaller deposit than she expected.

Marketing consultant Caitlin Bucktrout, 26 and her partner Sam Ward, 27, who is a web designer, moved into their three-bedroom first home in Leeds in March 2020.

The pair were renting a two-bedroom terraced house in the Headingley area of Leeds when they were told their rent was set to increase by £100 to £950.

Determined to get their own place before then, the couple managed to tuck away between £400 and £600 a month over a nine-month period to build up the sum they needed to get their own digs.

But saving for a deposit was made a lot easier when Sam came across the shared ownership scheme – a scheme for first-time buyers which allows you to buy with a lower deposit.

The scheme means that you co-own your home with a housing association – you buy a portion of the property and then pay rent on the part that you don’t own.

The scheme lets you put down a deposit of just 5% for properties – so it’s helpful for first-time buyers.

Buyers must purchase between 10% and 75% of the property to use the initiative, and they can then “staircase” – buy more shares in instalments – until they own 100% of it.

You can find local shared ownership properties on the Share to Buy website, or contact your local housing association.

One of the issues with shared ownership is that you don’t have as much freedom when it comes to selling your home, compared to if you hadn’t used the scheme.

There are also fewer lenders offering shared ownership mortgages compared with standard ones.

But it can be a good alternative for first-time buyers needing a bit of support to get on the housing ladder.

Caitlin said the couple would have needed triple the deposit that they put down to buy a house in the area without it.

The couple own 34% of their home and hopes to invest in more of the property as the years go by.

We sat down with Caitlin to find out how she went from being a saver to a homeowner for The Sun’s My First Home series.

Tell me about your home

It’s a three-bedroom semi-detached house in north Leeds.

The house has views of the university playing fields and lots of open space which is lovely.

We have a small kitchen diner, a good-sized living room and a back garden.

Upstairs is the master bedroom, two smaller rooms and a family bathroom.

How did you decide on that location?

We were so excited to move in when we found the house because it was just the perfect location.

It’s a great walking distance into Headingley – where we used to live – so we know the area really well and we could maintain our social life.

We wanted to remain in the area but we had been priced out of central Headingley, unless we wanted a property that needed a lot of renovation, which we weren’t in the market for.

How much was it?

We used the shared ownership scheme to buy our home.

The house cost £245,000 and we own 35% of it.

We took out a shared ownership mortgage of around £85,000 for 30 years and initially, we had a one-year fix of 2.1%.

Our mortgage payments were £400, while we paid £460 in rent and a £40 service charge for grounds maintenance.

When that deal expired, we decided to take out a five-year fix of 4.3%.

This meant our monthly mortgage payments increased to £550.

Our rent has also increased to £495 and the service charge has gone up to £43. We now pay a total of £1,100 a month.

Our deposit was 35% at £10,000 – you pay a deposit on the portion of the house that you are buying.

Why did you choose shared ownership?

We were anticipating having to put down at least triple the deposit in order to buy in the area that we wanted, but shared ownership made it a lot more affordable.

The scheme was a bit of a game-changer for us.

The scheme allowed us to stay in our desired area without a bigger financial investment.

Since moving in, we have been putting away £100 to £300 every month to save to staircase our ownership percentage.

Ideally, we’ll be able to move to 100% ownership within two years and we’re making good headway.

How did you save for it?

Sam and I have been together for years, and had been saving intermittently throughout that time.

We weren’t putting money away with the sole aim of getting a deposit and we would dip in and out of it.

It took us around nine months to save up the £10,000 we needed for our deposit and we started with a nest egg of around £5,000.

We were renting a two-bedroom terraced house in central Headingley for £850 a month.

Our landlord had given us notice that our rent was to increase by £100 so we were keen to move out before this happened.

Sam and I were putting away between £400 and £600 a month between us to make sure that we reached our target.

I downsized my car and swapped from a diesel to petrol, which saved me around £200 a month on fuel and lower car insurance.

We also changed a lot of our eating habits, like making packed lunches for work rather than buying something from the shop.

Growing our own vegetables at home also helped us to reduce the cost of our food shop.

Doing weekly shops at either Aldi or Lidl also helped us to save cash.

We had been doing shops at our local Sainsbury’s, but this was quite expensive and would only last us a couple of days.

Changing how we socialised with friends also helped us to stay on track with our savings.

Instead of going out, we’d invite friends round and host, or ask them to bring a dish they had cooked with them, to save on cost.

How did you afford to furnish it?

We had a few pieces of furniture from living in our rented property that we brought with us to the new place.

But we have been buying new pieces in stages to spread out the cost.

Facebook Marketplace was also great for picking up some essentials at a bargain price.

I got a brand-new, fantastic double bed and mattress for £50 because the seller simply didn’t want it anymore.

It was in great condition and was still on sale at Next for £450, so we made a huge saving.

What’s your advice for other first-time buyers?

The process can be overwhelming, but don’t let it take over your life and it’s important to still look after yourself.

Don’t sacrifice your social life for the sake of buying a house.

Instead, find cheaper ways to spend time with your friends and family because it’s so important.

Make sure you research schemes like Shared Ownership too and don’t just jump in.

It’s important that a scheme works for you and will continue to in the long term.

Meanwhile, we spoke to one couple who managed to bag their first home using a “lifeline” small deposit scheme.

Plus, one first-time buyer bought with his mum after an easy mistake ruined his credit score.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

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