In this episode of "This Shared Ownership Thing" Podcast, Cheryl Gibbens (Marketing Officer) speaks with a recent Aster Shared Ownership buyer Tiana Chadwick . Listen to hear Tiana's experience of purchasing a shared ownership home and why it was the right decision for her.

Podcast Transcript:

Cheryl (00:08):
Hello, and welcome to this shared ownership thing podcast. Each month we sit down to discuss frequently, asked questions, share the incredible stories of our customers. And we dispel the myths and the rumors of shared ownership. My name's Cheryl and I'm a marketing officer at Aster sales, and this week I'm joined by a recent Aster home shared ownership buyer, Tiana Chadwick. In this episode, we're going to discuss Tiana's shared ownership journey and how she's getting on a year after moving in.
Cheryl (00:44):
Okay. So before we get started, let's learn a little bit more about yourself, Tiana. I have a few quick fire questions for our listeners to get to know you. Are you ready?
Tiana (00:55):
Yep.
Cheryl (00:57):
Let's start with, are you an early riser or do you love a lay-in and obviously I know you have your little Teddy, so I can assume it goes around that.
Tiana (01:08):
So I am an early riser, but I do prefer the lay in, whenever I get a chance I will lay in.
Cheryl (01:17):
How often do you get a chance?
Tiana (01:17):
Erm not very often.
Cheryl (01:22):
Bless you.
Cheryl (01:26):
Okay. Secondly, I'm going to hit you a little bit with all these questions, first tea or coffee. And what's your favourite brand and also what is your favourite coffee shop?
Tiana (01:39):
So I'm a coffee kind of girl. I love the Nescafe coffee. You know, the one in the powder form and I am a Starbucks girl.
Cheryl (01:50):
What is your go-to Starbucks order?
Tiana (01:54):
At the moment it's a pumpkin spice latte because it's that time of year but normally some kind of flavoured latte. That's my favourite.
Cheryl (02:02):
And do you go wild and have anything like a caramel syrup shot in there or?
Tiana (02:08):
Oh yeah, absolutely. Like there's always some kind of syrup in there.
Cheryl (02:14):
My kind of girl, okay. Lastly, are you a Netflix-er, and have you got a favourite series that you're watching or that you've just finished?
Tiana (02:26):
Yep. I am a Netflix-er, I'm watching the maid at the moment, which is pretty good. And I've also finished the Squid Games last week, which I absolutely loved.
Cheryl (02:42):
That was intense. Wasn't it Squid game?
Tiana (02:44):
Very intense. I wasn't expecting like the twist. I won't spoil it for anyone, but I wasn't expecting the twist at the end. Like you go through so many different emotions watching it.
Cheryl (02:54):
Yeah, very intense. Thank you for the answers.
Cheryl (03:08):
Okay. So for the listeners, we assume that you found this podcast as you're interested in shared ownership, and you want to find out more Tiana made the jump to shared ownership back in 2020. And for any listeners that may not know shared ownership is when you buy a share of a home and you pay rent on the remaining share that you don't yet own. This enables you to have a lower deposit and to get the home that you want for a price that you can afford, shared ownership isn't for everyone. However, it can really benefit some people. Tiana, why did you choose to go down the shared ownership route as opposed to renting or buying a home on the open market?
Tiana (03:46):
So we had been renting since I finished university really together. So we were just paying so much money into somebody else's mortgage and it was just really unaffordable to be able to save like a large deposit, to be able to buy on the open market, alongside renting. So we decided to go down the shared ownership route because of that reason mainly and I mean, shared ownership is not going to be for everyone, but for us it worked really well because obviously now we've got a family and we're paying some rent, which is nowhere near as much as what we were privately renting. And the rest of the money that we're paying every month is going into a mortgage. So that will forever help us in the future and it's not dead money. It's something that we actually own.
Cheryl (04:36):
Amazing. Yeah. It's so nice to hear how it's worked for you, because like you say, it won't work for everyone but there are people that shared ownership does definitely work for.
Tiana (04:45):
Oh yeah. A hundred percent. Absolutely.
Cheryl (04:48):
Another part shared ownership is staircasing. This is the term that she used to describe buying more shares in your home, buy more shares in your home means paying less rent. So by staircasing you'll own more shares of your home, you'll reduce your rent that you pay and you'll move forward on a journey to potentially owning a hundred percent of your home. If that's what you wish to do. All of our shared ownership homes can differ. So if we have anyone listening that would specifically like to discuss their staircasing options, just get in touch and we can help staircasing is a great opportunity. Is this something that you would potentially look into doing in the future Tiana? Does it interest you?
Tiana (05:25):
Oh yeah, a hundred percent. So we bought the highest amount that we could afford at the time, which is 25%. We were, our first initial plan was, well, let's see, cause we've got a fixed mortgage for five years and then we're going to re-mortgage. So we thought, well, let's just move into the house, give it the five years and see how we feel in it. We were hoping in that time that we had had another child because we bought a three bedroom, and then kind of see how we live in the home. I think that's the beauty of shared ownership, you can buy what you want to afford and you can kind of see how the home fits for you before you go into buying more, which we probably will be doing, but we'll just see how we get on, I guess, it's nice to have that option.
Cheryl (06:18):
Definitely. I love how, as you said, like you can sort of make shared ownership work for you. So yeah, that's really nice, if it wasn't for shared ownership, where do you think you would be now? Do you think you'd still be renting privately?
Tiana (06:34):
Yeah, a hundred percent. We wouldn't be in any kind of position to be able to buy our own house, especially with the last year because of Coronavirus, the banks are, really pumping up how much deposit you have to put down to be able to get a more, which makes it even more harder. With Shared ownership you can put down just the 5%. So I don't think we would be able to afford the open market. We would still be renting and paying a lot of money, on rent.
Cheryl (07:21):
So obviously you moved into your home in 2020, wasn't it? So was that before COVID hit or was it during that you moved in?
Tiana (07:29):
It was during COVID. So we actually got the email from Sarah, to say that the house had been allocated to us the day that we went into lockdown, the first lockdown down. Yes. It was a very long process. It was very hard, but it was so worth it, so so worth it. I'm really glad that we had Sarah.
Cheryl (07:56):
You got there in the end.
Tiana (07:58):
Oh, we did. We did, we had to fight a bit, but we did.
Cheryl (08:02):
Bless you, I'm so glad. How did you find the process from making an inquiry to moving into your home, obviously taking into consideration that you done that during COVID? So it was quite long.
Tiana (08:17):
Yeah, it was long. It was very frustrating. And it was very hard, the banks completely shut down, so we couldn't kind of get our mortgage on board and but you guys were just amazing. Like you were there every step of the way, Sarah, I cannot praise Sarah enough for what she did for us. Like she was just always there. If I had a little bit of a wobble, which I had plenty of wobbles, always at the other end of the phone telling me, like reassuring me that yeah, it's hard but there's loads of people in the same position and we're going to do it and it's going to be fine and you're going to be moving into your home and the day that we actually got our keys, I felt like was a day that was never going to come and when it did, it just felt even more amazing that we had kind of achieved that together.
Cheryl (09:08):
That's amazing. I love that. I remember when I was in the process of buying my house and it was a new build. So they were like loads of delays and everything. And everyone keeps saying to you, oh, it will be so worth it on the day you get the keys and you're like, mm I'm not really sure right now, but then that day comes and it's just like, ah!
Tiana (09:26):
I'll do that stress all over again. For the same outcome.
Cheryl (09:33):
So obviously your Shared Ownership journey has worked well for you. Would you encourage others to think about shared ownership as a potential house buying route.
Tiana (09:43):
A hundred percent. I actually have already, there's a lady that I worked with who was quite intrigued with this shared ownership and she's bought her house through you guys as well. So I would always suggest it to somebody. I think it won't work for everyone like we've already said that, especially people that have families or are on their own and want to buy on their own. It's definitely such a good option.
Cheryl (10:09):
Love that. I love that you've, recommended it to a friend as well. That's awesome. You've now been living in your shared ownership home in Hampshire for a year. How has that year been and what do you love about the area that you've moved to?
Tiana (10:25):
It's been really good. I'm from Hampshire anyway. So is James but, we've lived outside of Hampshire and it just doesn't feel like home. If we're not here and we've obviously lived in rental properties and that didn't really feel like home either. So we feel really comfortable here. Our neighbors are really, really lovely, which really helps, our next door Neighbors got a child the same age as our little boy. That's really, really, really nice. And I just feel like part of the community it's really bizarre. I've never really felt like this before, and I guess we're just really happy. I'm really, really comfortable with, with our home. And it's always nice coming home, whereas before it kind of wasn't, I mean, it was awfully nice to come home, but it didn't feel like what it feels like now.
Cheryl (11:20):
That's really special. And I think it's amazing that shared ownership has helped do that for you. So that definitely says a lot. Obviously we all have our home accounts on Instagram. And do you have your account where you shared your shared ownership journey on there, are there any home inspo that you personally love and would recommend following if any of our listeners are starting their shared ownership journey or just need an account to follow for home inspiration?
Tiana (11:52):
Yeah, a hundred percent. So I follow, a few different accounts, a few different reasons. Well, I did find when I first started my, account on Instagram was that the shared ownership community it's huge on Instagram. There's a page called the Mulberry reach home. She and her partner actually bought through shared ownership and her account is amazing. Like they've just built a whole brand new media wall inside their shared ownership home. And it's incredible. I really highly recommend, she's also got two dogs that are very, very cute. They're big dogs, but they're very cute. And also I really love home by Laura. That's kind of an inspo page, she didn't buy through shared ownership, but she completely renovated our home, from something that was kind of needed a good load of work. And it's just beautiful. I love her house so much and she's also very, very lovely.
Cheryl (12:54):
Oh, definitely have to check those out. Thank you. Okay. So we've come to the end of our questions. Thank you so much for popping onto the This SO thing podcast it's been lovely having you on, and it's so lovely to hear about your shared ownership journey.
Tiana (13:13):
No worries. Thanks for having me.
Cheryl (13:15):
You are more than welcome!
Cheryl (13:23):
Okay. And finally we know how helpful it is to answer the questions that have been asked. And one question that has popped up recently is if I buy a shared ownership home, can I sell it if I want to move? And the answer is yes, we've had shared owners previously who have sold to move to a different area, for example, to be closer to family. And we've also had shared owners who have used shared ownership, kind of like a stepping stone and are now looking to sell as they're ready to buy on the open market. We have a dedicated resell team who will be there every step of the way to support you and answer your questions in regards to selling, we will also be having a lovely resell team member on the podcast soon. So if you have any questions, please feel free to just send them in for her. Or in the meantime, you can contact us on homeownership@aster.co.uk. You can call us on 01380735480. Or you can message us on social media. You can find us under Aster Sales. Anyway, thank you everyone for listening. This shared ownership thing podcast is brought to you by Aster Sales, visit aster.co.uk/sales for more information.