Homes SOS comes to shared owners' rescue

Published by AD for Sarsen Housing Association in Housing and also in Communities

Aster Group has launched a new scheme to help shared owners hold onto their home, if they are struggling to make ends meet.

With Home SOS, shared owners could buy back a share or all of their home and stay living in it. If Aster buys back shares, customers will pay more rent and less on their mortgage. If their money situation improves later, they can buy back more shares in their home.

Home SOS is aimed at more than 500 shared owners who part-own and part-rent their home with a housing association in the Aster Group. This includes Sarsen, Mendip Housing, Ridgeway Community Housing Association and Testway Housing with homes in Hampshire and across the south west.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders has predicted that 65,000 people will have their homes repossessed during 2009, the highest level since 1992. Home SOS can help customers who have money problems and are falling behind on their mortgage payments, instead of re-possessing their home.

Kathryn Unsworth of Sarsen Housing Association said: said: “Times are tough for a lot of people, especially home owners. Some may have lost their jobs, had their hours cut or are perhaps dealing with a family break-up. Either way, we’ll do what we can to help. We’ve sent a leaflet to all our shared owners and we’re ready to give them help and advice, if they need it.”

Anyone who applies for the scheme needs to show they have looked at ways to sort out their money troubles and that Home SOS is their last resort. This includes steps such as, changing their mortgage to make the payments smaller, applying for housing benefit on their rent or looking to sell their home to buy or rent a smaller place.