Opening the doors to shared ownership

Apr 22 2008 by Evening Gazette

WOULD you like to be a home owner but thought you would never be able to afford it?

What if you were told that you could buy a brand new home and pay just half of the price for starters and enjoy the benefit of being a home owner?

Coast and Country Housing is offering people the chance to take a first step on the housing ladder with a new shared ownership brand Times4.

Times4 was launched at Coast and Country’s new development at Rosewood Close in Ormesby where 18 high quality new homes have been completed, six of which are for shared ownership.

The first five have been snapped up by local residents but there is one three-bedroom home remaining to be sold. Why not have a look - it could be just what you were looking for and it is ready to move into?

These homes have been built to a high quality finish with fully fitted kitchen complete with cooker and oven and trendy spot-lights. Built on three storeys, the top floor bedroom offers an en-suite and modern velux windows which, when pulled open, converts into a balcony. You can buy this home for £68,975 for a 50% share.

Shared ownership provides a solution to the difficulties of getting on the housing ladder. In Redcar and Cleveland, for example, a first mortgage costs around eight times the average salary.

Times4 now makes buying a high quality new home a possibility through shared ownership - a combination of mortgage and rent.

Times4 was launched with the help of children from the nearby St Gabriel’s Primary School. They will now work with local artist Glynis Johnson to create a mosaic which will form part of a commemorative stone for the Allendale development.

Other shared ownership schemes coming on line soon are 12 homes at Prior’s Wood, Guisborough and two homes at Parklands, Overfields. Both schemes have just started on site and are expected to be completed this time next year. Coast and Country will be starting to market them soon. Check out the website at www.Times4.uk.com

And there is even more good news. After being allocated £3.5m of Government funding via the Housing Corporation, a further 10 shared ownership homes will be built in the Blayberry/Burnmoor Estate in Redcar and a further eight at College Gardens in Billingham, Stockton.

The remainder of the funds will help to build 69 homes for rent.

The Times4 brand is just one element of Coast and Country’s new strategy. More than £60m is being spent on regenerating estates across Redcar and Cleveland.

For more information about shared ownership visit the website at www.times4.uk.com or contact Peter Fleming on 01642 771440.