Radian Homes: Retirees get back on the ladder with Shared Ownership

Couple get back on the ladder in the UK with affordable housing scheme

After 16 years in the sun, Jane and Ray Light made the decision to return to the UK. While they enjoyed their time in Spain, the couple, both retired, felt ready to move back home and be closer to their grandchildren. Moving overseas left them without a huge budget, however Shared Ownership, provided by Radian Homes, offered the perfect option to help them back onto the ladder in Hampshire earlier this year.

Jane, 69, explains: “Moving to Spain in 2003 was a whirlwind decision. It was a big risk to sell up and buy a small, two bedroom bungalow, but ultimately one we loved. However, as we got older the heat just got too much for us – in the middle of the summer we barely even left the house, so last Christmas we chose to return to England.”

When picking where to relocate, they considered where they were living prior to moving abroad and where their grown-up children live now. Jane says: “Ray grew up in Bishopstoke and our daughter lives close by, so it made perfect sense to come back here. We didn’t want to throw money down the drain renting, but the sale of our place in Spain didn’t give us much so it was tricky to find something in our price range. We saw some signage about Shared Ownership while out on a drive, and it seemed like a great fit for us, so we went to one of Radian’s open days at Oakfield Grove and fell in love with the homes. My husband took one look out the back of the development and across the fields which it backs onto and simply said ‘this is gorgeous’.”

“The room sizes in the house are great and having a third bedroom is handy for having somewhere for our son and his family to stay when they visit from Wales”, Jane adds. “the specification is good and being new it’s easy to keep clean. We bought all new furniture for this house, as our stuff from Spain wouldn’t look right against the modern, grey interiors here, so that was fun getting to shop for everything again!”

Jane and Ray (71) had enough in the bank from the sale of their Spanish home to purchase 40% of their home at Oakfield Grove as cash purchasers, meaning their monthly payments consist of just the rent on the remaining share (plus bills) and are therefore much more manageable. Jane says: “Our rent is so much less than if we’d done so privately elsewhere. When you’ve worked hard all your life you don’t want to throw that money away, so Shared Ownership is a god-send for people like us, meaning we also have an equity stake in our home. There’s no way we’d have the home we do now without Shared Ownership.”

For more information on Shared Ownership homes across southern England from Radian, visit radianhomes.co.uk.