b'7.0 / Comment SO Resi by Metropolitan Thames Valley 7.0 / Comment SO Resi by Metropolitan Thames Valley7.0 / CommentKush Rawal We got rid of the jargon, we dont talk about staircasing we talk about buying more shares, Director of Residential Investmentwe dont talk about rent we talk about the So Resi payment. It also heralded the birth of a new product, SO Resi plus. People come to shared ownership Metropolitan Thames Valley wanting to own 100% of their home but however good the customer feedback there was still a sense of dissatisfaction with the systems for buying further shares. What we couldnt do is magic up the financial viability to make that happen overnight but The evolution of shared ownership and where we go next what we could do is provide little springboards that might help. The costs associated with buying up additional shares paying for valuations and legal fees each time, for example, MTVH has had a shared ownership offering since 1973 but there has never been could be prohibitive. a time when there has been more interest or greater opportunity for the sector.SO Resi plus allows customers to buy an additional 1% a year for 15 years without feesRising house prices, particularly in London and the South East, has fuelled demand and with the certainty of knowing how much it is going to cost each year. from buyers looking for an affordable way onto the housing ladder. At the same time, Our next steps are looking at long-term tenure. Shared ownership, since its inception, was the Government is looking at ways to make home ownership simpler and easier for designed as a stepping-stone to 100% ownership but the rise in house prices at a much more people (see The future of shared ownership p14), faster rate than wages means that isnt always going to be possible, particularly in London. The value and viability of shared ownership for Housing Associations means there is anSo we are looking at our product to see if it is suitable for long-term tenure and how we can increasing appetite to deliver more productand satisfy demand. There is also increasingimprove that experience for those customers. interest from for-profit housing providers and institutional investors who want to help growShared ownership is a great product and it works and it needs to continue to workthe market.for the changing landscape. It is a pivotal time for shared ownership, a chance to look at how we can grow the sector while improving it for customers. Our first job is to make it easier to understand as a tenure. Weve got nearly 50 years of experience and yet when you compare the messaging around shared ownership withHelp to Buy and the success that has had, it is obvious that we need to do better. Progress is being made, the National Housing Federations has run a great campaign to raise awareness, for example. But we have a real opportunity now to come together as anIts a pivotal time for industry and create clear and simple messaging around shared ownership so it can delivershared ownership, on its potential.a chance to look at SO Resi was, in part, born out of this idea. Wed always taken a general approach to sharedhow we can grow the ownership but customer research showed us where we could improve. In response, thesector while improving So Resi brand is an evolution of what we were delivering, it is about clarity and simplicity, helping people to understand the tenure and what they are buying.it for customers. 22 / Shared Ownership Market Review 2020In conjunction with Cambridge University Shared Ownership Market Review 2020In conjunction with Cambridge University / 23'