Housing Options For Single Parents- Buying A House By Elizabeth Taylor
The challenge of affording suitable housing as a single parent is endless. All too often we are trapped in a cycle of trying to earn enough to get a mortgage and trying not to earn too much that you will lose the Universal Credit support towards your rent; never mind the waiting lists that we face to move into social housing. Ok, now I have finished ranting, ill move to the positives, there are in fact many initiatives in Wales that we can access as single parents, it is simply knowing about them.
Well, worry no more, we have collated as much information as we can about the various housing options and support with buying your own home.
Help to Buy- Wales
As mentioned in the introduction, Help to Buy in Wales is different to England. In England, you can get a house up to £600k on Help to Buy and in Wales, it has just been changed from £300k to £250k. Help to Buy is an equity loan and you can borrow up to 20% of the market value of a new home.
Points to be mindful of:
It needs to a new build home.
You need to have a minimum of a 5% deposit
It is interest free for 5 years only. Interest increases yearly
When you sell, you pay back 20% of the current market value, not what you bought it for
The scheme is for first time buyers only
Find out more here: https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2021-02/help-to-buy-wales-buyers-guide.pdf?fbclid=IwAR27Rfzirtr-kj0MVI3DNUg725_n93-CJf3a1haHXQaj42n3msxmRgNh5P0
And here: https://gov.wales/help-buy-wales
Shared Ownership- Wales
This option is similar to Help to Buy in a way, as it is aimed at those that cannot quite afford the purchase of a home on your own. It basically works like this:
You can choose to own between 25% and 75% of a chosen property and you pay rent on the rest
You can increase your share of the property as time goes on.
Points to be mindful of:
You will have to pay 100% of ground rent and service charge on the property, no matter what your share is
You will have to pay stamp duty on the whole value of the property
There may be restrictions on your home improvements
Find out more here: https://gov.wales/shared-ownership-wales#:~:text=With%20Shared%20Ownership%20%E2%80%93%20Wales%3A,share%20of%20the%20home%20purchased
Mortgages
When looking for a mortgage get a good Mortgage Advisor that will be able to find you the best deal as a single parent, mortgages that will be able to take into consideration any benefits you make receive and child maintenance payments as well. It’s really worth talking to someone in the know who can advise you on any debt you may have and how to get a better credit score. This may not be an immediate change to buying a house, but after speaking to a Mortgage Advisor you should have a better idea of what you are working towards.
Why not check out our blog by SPW Member and Mortgage Advisor Samantha Borge.