Owning your own home

Shared ownership is a total scam. You're not buying a share of a home, you're renting it and paying upfront a huge amount for an option to buy at a later date. You pay 100% stamp duty, management, maintenance, ground rent and service charges, all of your freeholder's legal costs, and stand to lose your home and all your money if you fall behind on the rent. You are also beholden to a housing association, which is the kind of landlord interested only in building and renting/selling but not in maintenance, addressing complaints, being efficient or professional, leaving you to enjoy your home in peace, or being helpful when you want to sell. You will get shafted at every turn, so only enter into it if you intend to staircase to 100% as soon as possible.

It got me on the housing ladder back in 1999, but I will be fucking glad when I complete on my sale (assuming East Homes' catastropic incompetence and inefficiency doesn't lose me my buyer along the way)>

A friend of mine has learned all of this the hard way. The latest bit of shit that has flown her way is the "landlord" has come after her for earnings she's made from letting her spare room on Air B'n'B. They are threatening to chuck her out if she doesn't cough up.