The administrative burden of changes to shared ownership

read time: 2 min
25.09.19

The proposed changes to shared ownership will not actually lead to any more homes being built. What the measure aims to do is to make buying a share in a house more affordable, increasing the numbers of people who can afford to buy. 

Part of the issue has been that in expensive areas of the country, in particular,  the "affordable" has become "unaffordable". Thus, acquiring a 50% share in London for example is still beyond most buyers.

The key concern with the proposal is the administration required to deal with the purchase of small shares, as little as 1% of value. The property needs to be valued for each chunk being acquired and a process followed to complete the purchase.

To make the process quicker and easier, the use of IT should be considered. Is there a possibility for example for an online valuation, with acceptance and payment administered through the Landlord's portal, say for shares under 10%? The system would need to record the total shared acquired, to replace an existing paper memorandum, but it may at least reduce the burden and costs of the changes to the scheme.

Link to related article: www.moneywise.co.uk/news/2019-08-28%E2%80%8C%E2%80%8C/government-plans-shake-shared-ownership-schemes-get-more-people-housing-ladder

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