An additional $1.5m will be invested by TECT and Trust Horizon to help 15 more Bay of Plenty families afford to buy their own home despite not fitting mainstream mortgage criteria.

BayTrust made an initial $2 million impact investment into YouOwn which has since helped fund 24 home purchases in the Bay of Plenty.

Now TECT and Trust Horizon are committing a further $1.5m to allow the successful initiative to expand in the region.

As money is repaid, it is recycled back into the scheme to allow further homes to be bought.

YouOwn is a privately-funded co-ownership programme which has run in the Bay of Plenty since September 2020.

It’s designed to solve the deposit gap (particularly for first home buyers) by taking a small ownership stake in the new property at a low interest rate.

After five years people can use their equity to buy out YouOwn’s share, so eventually people own their property outright.

Bay of Plenty teacher Alex Le Long is just one example of how life-changing YouOwn’s assistance can be.

Alex bought a modern home in the region in May last year, having left Auckland a decade ago in the hopes of one day being able to buy her own home.

“The journey hasn’t been easy. I’ve been putting money into my KiwiSaver account for 12 years but it just wasn’t enough. Prior to YouOwn the bank was saying to me ‘no you can’t do this’.

"I was really naïve about the whole process in a lot of ways. But joining with YouOwn I had immediate help.”

BOP teacher Alex Le Long has bought her first home with help from YouOwn. Photo: Supplied.

YouOwn contributed $63,000 to Alex’s existing $67,000 KiwiSaver deposit, and now has a 10.8 per cent share in her house.

“Between us we had enough shared equity to get a home loan with SBS bank. Buying this house is my biggest dream come true.

"I’m the head of English at a Bay of Plenty college and am working my butt off, but as a single person it’s hard. I would not have been able to do this without YouOwn.

"I also had to work through that poverty mindset and learn how to save better and how to use term deposits appropriately so I could have money behind me to pay for legal fees and all the extras that come with buying a home.”

Alex is thrilled to now live in a house that’s warm and dry.

“It’s such an insane feeling, this new privilege we have. It feels like waking up in a motel or hotel every day!”

YouOwn Executive Director Nigel Spratt says the inability to save a large enough deposit and/or personal debt are usually the main barriers people face when trying to get a mortgage from a commercial bank.

“YouOwn provides good, hard working Kiwis with an opportunity to get into their dream home or to get onto the housing ladder,” says Nigel.

“They have sufficient income but high Loan-to-Value Ratio mortgages are still incredibly hard to get. Many people don’t qualify or simply can’t save a big enough deposit – a problem which is further exacerbated by the cost of living crisis.”

Nigel says falling housing prices means now is a good time to buy, even though interest rates are currently high.

“I don’t think I’d ever say housing in New Zealand is cheap but right now you can get a house at a fair price. Many people can afford to service a mortgage but just can’t get past that 20 per cent deposit hurdle with the bank. That’s where YouOwn can help.”

YouOwn currently charges a 5.95 per cent interest rate which is considerably cheaper than commercial banks. Over the past six years, YouOwn has loaned $17 million to Kiwis, allowing 187 homes to be purchased nationwide.

In addition to the extra $1.5m now being invested in the Bay of Plenty, another $5m in funding has been obtained for use elsewhere which will cover demand for loans over the next 12 months.

TECT Chief Executive Wayne Werder says it can take families many years to save for a house deposit – delaying home ownership and putting pressure on the rental market.

“One of our strategic focus areas is housing as we believe everyone in our region should have access to warm, healthy, affordable housing. TECT has chosen to invest in the YouOwn scheme as part of a broader set of investments aiming to improve and support families into affordable housing in the Western Bay of Plenty.”

YouOwn is independent of any builders, real estate agents and home loan lenders.

“We are a privately-funded programme,” says Nigel. “That means there is no income cap or eligibility criteria. We welcome everybody who’s interested in co-ownership with us, but it’s our philosophy to give preference to first home buyers.”

For more details or enquiries about YouOwn and how the co-ownership model works, please visit https://youown.co.nz