Councillor Josephine Bartley. Photo: Supplied / Auckland Council
Auckland councillor Josephine Bartley is one of more than 100 people who have moved into homes of their own due to a Tamaki Regeneration Company (TRC) shared ownership scheme.
She said she could never have purchased a property without the scheme, which allowed her to buy her Glen Innes home with just 5 percent deposit.
"It was from my KiwiSaver, which I had been holding on to for a long time, since I got made redundant from my old job."
The TRC Own It programme took a 30 percent stake in the property, which enabled her to get a mortgage.
"There's no way in hell I would have been able to buy a house [otherwise]," she said. "No way. Even on the income I have... everybody knows it's very hard to buy a house in Auckland.
"I keep telling everyone I know to go on this scheme, it's awesome to see some of my friends and family from the community in the scheme and have bought a house in the community they've grown up in."
She said it took less than a year from deciding to pursue the opportunity to buying a house.
"I signed up two or three years ago at a community event and when they started contacting me and followed it up, I started doing that seven-week programme and saw this could actually happen."
Own It is available to households with a combined income of between $85,000 and $150,000.
Those with a large family living together across six or more people or two or more family units in a multigenerational situation can have income up to $205,000 a year.
TRC is owned by the government and Auckland Council. The Tāmaki Housing Association (THA) is part of TRC and has looked after the area's state housing since 2016.
Participants take part in a course over seven weeks to build financial capability, and then can apply for a mortgage on a home with a deposit from 5 percent.
Own It is a stake which is paid back over time, without interest.
It is only available to first-home buyers and those with a Tamaki connection - living in, working in, or having other connections to Glen Innes, Point England and Panmure, in Auckland.
The scheme has partnerships with ASB, Westpac and SBS and participants can buy two- to five-bedroom properties in duplexes, terraces and apartment complexes.
Financial capability facilitator Anaru Ah Kew said the scheme was designed to build wellbeing and give foundational information from which people could go on to become homeowners.
"You get that foundation and I believe you have the ability to build on top of that foundation with the knowledge you acquire above and beyond the seven weeks. It's a starting point, and demystifies the knowledge around money that a lot of whanau may be scared of."
He said people were encouraged to ask questions and speak about their own experiences.
"It's giving people the information. We shine a light on that journey, if you are thinking about a house, people don't know what they don't know.... they might live intergenerationally in state housing or a rental and never have thought about the possibility... you've got to have a starting point."
He said the need for a deposit was a big barrier for many buyers, and the scheme was designed to address that.
"It lowers the bar... we find a lot of people have been contributing to something like KiwiSaver... sometimes they don't know and go and check and find they are not too far off. If they're buying with a partner or someone else, they tend to be able to pull together the 5 percent across their KiwiSavers."
About 300 to 400 people were in the Own It pipeline, he said. "That doesn't mean everyone is ready. Some people might be ready to push the button and go in six months, others might have more to work through and it could be two or three years down the track but at last they know what they need to do."
People would often pay the Own It shares back in ten years, he said, but could do it over 20. "A lot of whanau have already paid off their shares, depending on how determined they are and the market conditions."
Bartley says it has changed the way she thinks about money.
"I didn't have any savings, it's changed everything I do about money. I definitely think twice and if I don't need to, I won't spend. I know I've got to pay this mortgage. It's good."
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