For years, Fiona happily devoted her life to caring for others in the social care sector before qualifying as a nurse two years ago; but when it came to her own living situation, she longed for something more.
Fiona was living in a rented two bedroom flat with her seven-year-old twins. The lack of space, the absence of a garden and the reality of her children sharing a bedroom made her dream of homeownership feel distant. That is, until she discovered shared ownership through Plumlife.
Where it all began
Fiona’s journey began in a modest flat that had once been just enough for her and her twins. When they first moved in, her children were just two years old, but as they grew, so did their need for space. The small rooms that once felt cosy now seemed too small and the absence of outdoor space for her twins to play weighed heavily on her. She knew it was time for a change, but buying a home on the open market felt unattainable, as it does to lots of us!
That all changed when a friend told her about shared ownership. Until then, Fiona had never heard of the scheme but once she learned that it required a lower deposit and made homeownership more affordable, she felt a sense of hope.
Fiona’s dream home
That’s when Fiona’s search for a shared ownership home began and she discovered that Plumlife had properties very close by in Rochdale.
When Fiona found her perfect home, she knew it was meant to be. The house had everything she had ever dreamed of – a spacious layout, a beautiful back garden and most importantly, separate bedrooms for her twins. Finally she saw a future where her children could grow up in a home they truly loved.
For Fiona, the difference was immeasurable. “Sometimes I just come downstairs and smile because it’s my home, and I’m happy to be here. We have our forever home, we’ve got space, and I feel so grateful every single day,” she said.
The affordability of the scheme was a game-changer for Fiona. “I absolutely would recommend shared ownership for affordability and space. It’s given me my dream home,” she added.
The scheme didn’t just change Fiona’s life; it transformed her children’s experience of growing up. “The twins now have all the space in the world to play outside and they’ve got their own bedrooms, which they didn’t have previously in the flat we rented,” she said.
Could shared ownership be an option for you?
Now, Fiona is an advocate for shared ownership. “Shared ownership has given me that foothold on to the property ladder, so I would recommend it to anybody and everybody. In fact, I actually do! I’d never even heard of shared ownership and now we own our own home thanks to it,” she said.
With shared ownership you can buy a share in a home now, with the option to buy more of it in the future. Initially, you can buy the share of a home that you can afford, usually between 25% to 75%. In some cases, you can buy from as little as 10% of a home, if that’s the share level that’s affordable to you.
You then pay a subsidised rent on the remaining share, alongside your mortgage costs. This approach requires a much smaller deposit, making it ideal for first time buyers or those with limited savings. In the future, if your circumstances change, you can usually buy more shares of the property, or even purchase it outright through a process called “staircasing”.
If homeownership feels impossible right now, the shared ownership scheme is here to change that.
Visit plumlife.co.uk to explore available homes, understand more about how shared ownership works, calculate your affordability, and turn your dream of owning a new home into a reality
Explore more in our free magazine: Read Now
First Time Buyer is an exciting bi-monthly glossy which takes a stylish and comprehensive look at all the options available, setting them out in an entertaining and informative way, and helping potential customers navigate their way through what is often a daunting and complex process. We dispel the myths, reinforce the facts and arm the reader with the tools necessary to make their homeownership dreams a reality.
