Shared Ownership - What exactly is it? | News

What exactly is Shared Ownership?

When house prices are high, it can be difficult getting your foot on the property ladder. However, Shared Ownership may be the answer if you're not quite ready to purchase a property outright.

Rather than purchasing 100% of a property at once, buyers can purchase a share of between 25% to 75%. Making a property purchase is probably the largest financial investment someone will ever make, so make sure you have all the information you require before you proceed with a purchase.

Shared Ownership, also known as a part-buy part-rent scheme, assists buyers who are not in the market to purchase a property outright. Instead, buyers will purchase a percentage share of the property and then pay an affordable rent on the remaining percentage. This means the buyer only needs a mortgage for the share they are purchasing, so the amount of money required for a deposit is usually a lot lower when compared to the amount that would be required when purchasing outright. 

Who is eligible?

The general eligibility requirements for anyone wishing to buy a Shared Ownership home are:

• You must be at least 18 years old

• Outside of London your annual household income must be less than £80,000 

• You must be a first time buyer, OR if you do already own another home, you must be in the process of selling it

• You should not be able to afford to buy a home suitable for your housing needs on the open market

• You must show you are not in mortgage or rent arrears

• You must be able to demonstrate that you have a good credit history (no bad debts or County Court Judgements) and can afford the regular payments and costs involved in buying a home

• You will need to make sure you can cover the amount of deposit required, usually 5-10% of the share you are buying.

• You will also need to cover the costs of buying a home, including moving costs, see our Shared Ownership page for further details.

There are often requirements to meet local criteria, although these can vary from scheme to scheme. For example, you may need to meet one of the following:

• have lived within the Local Authority district for 6 of the last 12 months

• have lived within the Local Authority district for 3 out of the last 5 years

• have a permanent job, or the offer of a permanent job, wholly within the Local Authority district

• have close family ties within the district. For example, parents, children, brothers, sisters, who have lived in the area for the past five years.

If you want to find out more about Shared Ownership, email our Sales Manager or give us a call on 01296 732600 where our Contact Centre can pass you through. We can discuss any aspect of Shared Ownership that you’re unsure about, including the eligibility criteria set out by the local authority, affordability checks, and registering for the Shared Ownership scheme on the Help to Buy website.