Shared Ownership
Shared Ownership is designed so that you can buy a new home with a lower deposit and with monthly housing costs that are approximately 20% lower than if you were to buy the same home outright on the open market.
With Shared Ownership, you buy a share in your new home or a resale home usually between 25% and 75% of the full market value of the home. You also pay rent, which is initially capped at a maximum of 2.75%, on the part owned by Network Homes. In addition a service charge is payable per month.
You will need to have savings to cover any deposit required by your mortgage lender and the costs involved in moving.
When you can afford to, you can take your next steps and increase the share you own; this is known as 'staircasing'. The cost of the additional share that you buy will be based on the current market value of your home.
To buy through shared ownership you will need to do what is known as 'maximise your affordability'. What this means is that you will be required to take out a mortgage for the share that you are purchasing and any deposit you may have. Even if you can afford to buy the minimum share of the property in cash, you will still be required to take out a mortgage.
Every application needs to be assessed on an individual basis and you will be required to purchase the maximum share you can afford.
- Benefits of buying a shared ownership home
- Eligibility for shared ownership
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Home Ownership for People with Long-Term Disabilities (HOLD)
If you have a long-term disability, ‘Home Ownership for People with Long-Term Disabilities’ (HOLD) can help you buy any home that’s for sale on a shared ownership basis. You can only apply for HOLD if the properties available in the other HomeBuy schemes don’t meet your needs, e.g. you need a ground-floor property. Your local HomeBuy agent can help you.
- Buying more shares