I need some advice on experiences with shared ownership of a property, what are the downfalls or benefits , if any. Is it hard to sell on your shared part?

Assuming you mean part rent-part buy...

Have a read of these two articles.
Home Owners Alliance
Guardian

Personally speaking I wouldn't touch one.

My son has just bought property and I warned him that it was the wrong time to buy. One month in and we are hearing murmurs from the BOE that interest rates are going to rise. I hope he's done his finances properly and can cover the 15%+ that hit me.

Just my personal thoughts, the housing market is overvalued and at some stage (maybe not too far ahead) a massive correction is going to take place. Those unaware will get badly burned.

That's right Rebbonk, I mean part rent-part buy. Having read the link and and your your cautionary reply, I think we shall stay well clear of shared ownership. It is for my son who is presently looking in the Warwick area for a 1 bedroom property, flat or maisonette type abode. There has been a few around but on the lower end of the market , some which need a good deal renovating or a bit of work done on them, we are finding they are quickly snapped up by landlords who do them up to rent out. He really needs to be nearer work, as he cycles to work, no car at present, working long hours etc. We were looking at one possibility in Leamington, but the stairs were very steep and black mould round all the windows, damp in the kitchen, damp bedroom ceiling for some reason , there must be a leak in the roof. no central heating. It would be good if he could wait another year before buying maybe, but for reasons I won't mention here , he needs to get a place soon.
He wasn't 100% keen on the part ownership scheme, but now it seems it can get complex he shall shelve the idea.

I looked into shared ownership when I was looking at buying my own property, and it just seemed to be an expensive way of doing things - you're making monthly mortgage repayments on the part you own, and pay rent on the rest. It was an option I gave a wide berth to.

That's a problem I had when I was buying, Finebyme. As soon as a flat came onto the market, more often than not it was snapped up within hours by a landlord who could buy it for cash. Sellers would much rather take the money now than wait for weeks for someone to sort their mortgage out.

Thanks Lex, It's no wonder the estate agents are trying to push the shared ownership malarky, there are quite a few properties around that do that, but no, I think my son will not go down that route. Its good to get your opinion too .
Quite frustrating though , I have noticed that there is a lot of nice little retirement flats within my sons budget , quite affordable for him, but of course the age limit prevents him from buying those. It is a great pity that younger hard working people like my son can't get on the property rung easily, even though he can afford a small mortgage.

Well, it's been a long day and there's nothing on the tellybox; think I might treat myself to a quiet pint in my local.

I quite fancy the Trevor McDonald prog at 9:00. Bit of a rarity for me to watch TV.

Earlier in the week the washing was out on the line and it started to rain. I dashed out, scooped the lot up brought it in and folded it, leaving it neatly on the settee.

Later in the day, Mrs R asked me if I'd brought a pair of her knickers in. I honestly had no idea as it was all done in a hurry.

She then complained that a pair were missing.

Despite me saying that there was no way we had a knicker nicker on the loose, she wouldn't have it. No matter what logical argument I put forward, I was wrong. - It was also all my fault!

Yesterday when she moved the settee to vac behind it, yes, there was the missing pair of knickers. But somehow it's all my fault!

Folded the washing? You are a well trained servant!





.

(p.s. I don't hang smalls out)

From the days of living alone. I'm not one for piles of washing around, dirty or otherwise. Plus folding it cuts down severely on the ironing. - I can't remember when we last had our iron out.

So very true, I do the same.

I saw an old school friend have a very public breakdown on facebook over the weekend. In truth it was tragic to see. He's now in hospital waiting to be moved to a psychiatric ward.

Am I alone in finding mental health issues so difficult to understand and deal with?

Yes, it's difficult for 'the man in the street' to deal with, especially with extreme cases like your friends'. One of the few good things the BBC has done in recent years is give a lot of coverage to mental health, with the aim of promoting the issue.

The guy actually admitted yesterday that his 'performance' on facebook was a cry for help. Why didn't he ring the appropriate services? Why allow people to think he is little more than a facebook drama queen?

So very difficult to understand...

I think he was very lucky that he had enough friends locally to respond.

It is much easier to write how you feel than to speak.
On face book although you get replies which you may like or not, there is more time to think of an answer to the replies.
It would save a lot of heartache and tears if people could write down how they feel and pass it to the doctor when they see him. My brother who lives in Devon, always makes notes too, whenever he has to see his G P. which the doc says he appreciates.
I worked for social services years ago and advised persons , depressed or in some sort of emotional distress to do this. I found that the doctor was less likely to tell them to snap out of it, or treat it lightly, as most of them did.
Even now, with all this publicity about mental health,doctors need to be taught bedside'or 'surgery' manners.
I've met a few in my time, who do their job with no sympathy at all. Hearts of stone.
I wonder if nowadays some medical experts have a vocation or a job..