• Co-Buying: The Basics
• How could Co-Buying help you?
• Who could co-buy?
• Three most important steps to successful co-buying
• Where to go from here?

Co-Buying: The Basics
Co-buying, also known as shared ownership, joint ownership, co-ownership or mates mortgaging is when two or more people decide to buy a property together.

No matter whether you're a city worker or a key worker, just graduated or with several years of work under your belt, property prices have risen to such a level that affordable housing, let alone your perfect first home, has never been so difficult to find. In fact many thousands of people each year find that they cannot afford to step onto the property ladder at all and must continue living in their parents' home or wasting their hard earned money paying rent instead.

Co-buying offers a solution for first time buyers, those moving up the property ladder, investors, pretty much anyone who cannot afford what they want where they want to live. Why compromise on your home when you could join forces with someone else and afford somewhere bigger, better and sooner than you could alone? It's a little like flat-sharing, which has exploded in popularity for exactly the same reason, because it means affording a far nicer place or making savings from sharing the costs with someone else, a flatmate. You could buy with a friend or a family member, or you could find someone from the thousands registered on our site from across the country looking for someone they click with.

SharedSpaces.co.uk is the UK's original 'co-buyer network'. Launched in 2005 we are still the largest co-community in the UK with thousands of members ranging from 18 to 60 years old. Singles, couples and even young families looking for someone or even a few someones to help them make their property dreams come true. Please feel free to look around our site, and if you're looking to find someone to buy with then register FREE to start your search, and do drop us a line if we can be of any help at all.

How Could Co-Buying Help You?
Buying a home with someone else can make all the difference in the world.

• Imagine what you could afford with double or even triple your budget.
• What if you could divide all the costs of buying and running a home?
• You'd be able to afford to step onto the property ladder far sooner than you could have done on your own...
• Enabling you to profit from price rises in the property market, but also...
• Allowing you to buy without over-stretching your finances because you are sharing the costs, which...
• Protects you from down-turns in the property market.

More To Spend
You do the maths. If you buy with someone who's in a similar financial position to you, your deposit doubles and you can borrow more as their income is taken into account with the mortgage. Buy with two co-buyers and see your budget go up even further. Where could you afford to buy with that sort of money? In fact in England and Wales you are legally allowed up to four people on the Deeds of a property which means that all of you will have legal ownership of your home. Most lenders these days are happy to lend to two people co-buying and, although fewer in number, there are still some that will lend to three or even four people jointly to help you buy. For more information on this why not look at our Financial Essentials page or have a chat with a mortgage broker.

Split The Costs
Buying a property is not a cheap exercise. There are solicitors, surveyors, lenders, brokers and more to pay. But that's just the start of it. When the home is yours the running costs kick in; bills, mortgage, service charges, repairs, home improvement, insurances, and many more. Co-buying not only means having more to spend to buy a property, but also splitting all the costs of buying and owning a property between you.

Own Sooner
The property market has been booming for years now, and the 'experts' suggest that this will continue for some time to come, although probably not at the levels we saw a few years ago. Co-buying means being able to afford to step onto the property ladder sooner than you could if you were alone, resulting in you being able to benefit from any future price rises. Of course if the market ever does take a dip in the other direction any positive equity you've gained before that happens will go to cushion you against this, and if no dip happens, then it's all just profit when you sell.

Buy Sensibly. Don't Over-Stretch Your Finances
Through co-buying you'll have far more funds to buy what you want where you want. As an average two bedroom flat is often far less than twice the price of a one bedroom property, you should be able to afford the extra space and still hold some of your savings in reserve. If you stretch yourself to buy then find that it's more expensive than you thought to run a home you'll be in trouble. If you stretch yourself too far then the market takes a turn for the worse you'll probably find yourself wishing you hadn't. The reserve is what protects you from these. Two or three of you buying sensibly together could afford what you want, where you want to live and still have savings left over for home improvement or a contingency fund for the 'just in cases' in life...

In 2003 and 2004 the number of first time buyers as a percentage of the market hit rock bottom with approximately 100,000 fewer first timers than there should have been in each year. 2005 and 2006 saw these figures improve slightly, but thousands still find it impossible to buy, and many more are forced to compromise to afford to get onto the property ladder.

Who Could Co-Buy?

• Anyone who wants to buy but cannot afford to; first time buyers, couples who have split, families that have grown beyond their homes, those with greater aspirations than their bank account can handle, etc.
• Anyone who can afford to buy but through co-buying could afford somewhere bigger and better than the shoebox over shops in the back of beyond that they could afford on their own.
• Anyone who could afford to buy, but through co-buying can save and put the money towards home improvement, an extension to increase the property's value, or simply to save for their first solo home of their own one day.
• Anyone who through buying with someone else could afford a far bigger home which, with lender permission, they could rent a room out in to provide a small income.
• Anyone who would like to buy without over-stretching their finances because all costs will be shared.
• Anyone who's interested in investing in property.

Three Most Important Steps To Successful Co-Buying
This is your very basic guide to successful co-buying. Follow these three essential steps and you'll be well on your way to ensuring that you have an enjoyable co-ownership experience.

Step 1: There's No Rush
This may sound blindingly obvious, but it is important that you realise that you should take your time over this decision. There is no 'one' perfect property or 'one' perfect co-buyer out there, there are plenty, and if anyone tries to rush you into a decision that you are not ready for, step back and repeat after me..."I will not be rushed".

Getting to know the person or people you're considering co-buying with is the single most important part of the process. To find someone that you feel might be right for you, you'll have contacted loads of people through our site, but at this stage they are still very much a stranger to you. Before you decide to buy with them it is essential that you get to know them well enough to be able to call them friends or business partners.

How you go about doing that is totally up to you. It might take a few weeks or a few months to get to that stage. You might want to spend lots of time getting to know them, meeting their friends, their family, their current flatmates. You could go on window shopping trips to see if you have the same taste in decor or furniture. You could even rent with them for a short while to try before you buy, which is a great way of being sure that you could live with one another (see our Co-Renting page). Another way you could try before you buy is through Acorn Property Group's 'Rent to Buy' scheme which allows you to rent a brand new property with no obligation, but if you decide to buy they will give you back 50% of your rent. It's a great way of trying both co-buyer and property before you buy. For more information on meeting people for the first time and getting to know them see our FAQ page. Or if you have any questions please do feel as though you can contact us.

Step 2: Legal Sensibility
You've found the perfect mortgage mate, you like all the same things, have the same property aspirations, you've even met their mum, so now you're ready to jump right in and buy together right? WRONG. It does not matter how nice your co-buyer is, or even whether you are co-buying with friends who you've known for years or a family member you've known your whole life, you need to be legally sensible about this.

Don't worry the legal side is simple and inexpensive. There, I've instantly regained the attention of many of you who switched off as soon as I mentioned the law. The document you'll need is a commonly used one called a "Deed of Trust", it's known by several different names, but give your solicitor this one and they'll know what you want. They usually cost a couple of hundred pounds, but we feel they are essential whoever you're buying with. It serves two purposes. The first is to set out in writing exactly how the property's legal ownership is to be split, how the major costs will be divided and when one of you decides to sell up how this will happen. The second is that it forces all co-buyers to sit down and discuss everything to do with living together so any last minute misunderstandings can be ironed out. Come see our Legal Essentials page for more information on this and the other legal issues you might consider when buying a property on your own or with a co-buyer.

Step 3: Murphy's Law
You've heard of Murphy's Law. It's the rule that says anything that can go wrong will go wrong. There are times when the best laid plans can go astray, and what happens if you find your perfect property pal, you create and sign a Deed of Trust, find a wonderful place to buy, only to loose your job 3 months later.

The answer is Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance (MPPI). All co-buyers buying a property should be named on the policy so that if any of you become ill and are unable to work, or you lose your jobs the policy will cover your, or their, mortgage costs (it is essential that you check the terms of the policy you take out to see what is covered). Mortgage lenders do not care who pays what percentage of the mortgage. They only care about the monthly sum as a whole, so if you cannot pay one month, they will expect your co-buyer(s) to cover your shortfall.

Mortgage payment protection insurance is about mutual respect, something you need to show a lot of to have a successful co-buyer relationship. You are protecting not only yourself, but your co-buyer from you not being able to pay your mortgage responsibility.

Where To Go From Here

Feel free to explore the rest of our site. We are dedicated to finding solutions for those who cannot afford what they want where they want to live, so you will see that we have pages on Co-Buying, Co-Investing and Co-Renting. We also have a Hot Property section which not only explains the buying process, but introduces schemes and initiatives that we have found that could help simplify buying a property or enable you to buy somewhere far cheaper than you could otherwise. Also on the Hot Property page is information if you are interested in Investing in land or property in the UK or abroad. You could share your experiences with others, or ask questions on the co-community forum, and you could find out more about the legal, financial and insurance issues and solutions when buying.

You could also come and visit the SharedSpaces Blog called Property Buzz and read about the news of the property world through the eyes of our Founding Director.

If we can be of any help along the way please do contact us using our contact page or on