Shared Ownership
For almost 20 years, bdht has operated as the biggest provider of affordable housing in Bromsgrove. We employ over 150 people and contribute massively to the local economy.
Shared Ownership gives you the opportunity to get your foot on the ladder in an affordable way! It allows you to purchase an agreed percentage of your home according to your budget whilst renting the remainder. You can buy more and more shares later on up to the full 100%.
What is Shared Ownership?
If you’re looking for an affordable way to get onto the property ladder, Shared Ownership is for you!
Shared Ownership offers you the opportunity to purchase a share of a home and pay rent on the remaining share. As you will only require a mortgage for the share you are purchasing, the deposit amount required is lower compared to purchasing outright.
For example:
Mr and Mrs Smith would like to purchase a three bed home with an open market valuation of £200,000. They have a £10,000 deposit
They purchase a share at 50% = £100,000
They put down their 10% deposit of £10,000
Therefore a mortgage of £90,000 is required
Ongoing monthly rent payments = £229.16 + any relevant service charges
Am I eligible?
Eligibility criteria:
There are certain criteria you have to meet in order to qualify for a shared ownership property which are as follows:
• You have a household income of less than £80,000 per year
• You are a first time buyer i.e. you don’t already own a home OR you are currently a homeowner, however the property is not suited to your current needs and you cannot afford to purchase a suitable property
• You are at least 18 years of age
• You have a deposit and are able to secure a mortgage
• You will need to be financially qualified to confirm you can obtain a mortgage and we can offer you that service
• You will then need to register with Home Choice Plus
Click here to see if you are eligible.
What is the process?
Use our website to check current available properties and register your interest via the online form. Our trusted estate agent, Oulsnams, will then reach out to you to discuss your interest and direct you to an independent financial advisor if both parties are happy to continue.
The independent financial advisor will then complete a financial assessment. This is usually requested prior to viewing or reserving to ensure the property is suitable for you.
If you require a mortgage to fund your purchase the independent financial advisor will offer assistance in accessing the mortgage market and will assist you in your application and managing the process with your lender on your behalf.
Once you have satisfied the above and have been approved as eligible to purchase a Shared Ownership property you will be able to reserve your home. bdht will arrange with you to collect the below information after which the property will be reserved.
Our Home Ownership Officers will help and guide you through the next steps in your purchase right through to completion. They will deal, on bdht’s behalf, with the sale to ensure a smooth and timely completion.
You will be visited at your new home by a member of bdht’s home ownership team within two weeks of moving in. The visit enables you to ask any questions about your property and we will provide information on the service bdht offers to you as a Shared Owner. This will also be an opportunity to report any defects you may have noticed during your first few weeks in the property.
What is Staircasing?
If you aspire to own your home, purchasing Shared Ownership is your first step on the ladder!
Under the terms of your lease you can choose to purchase more shares of your home, For example, if you initially purchased a 50% share in your home and went on to buy an additional 20% down the line, you would then own 70% of the property. This is called staircasing. This allows shared owners to build the percentage share that they own in their home with most being able to staircase all the way up to 100% ownership.
Benefits of Staircasing
There are many benefits to increasing the share of your property that you own, some being:
To find out more on staircasing, click here: https://www.sharetobuy.com/staircasing/.
What are the costs?
When thinking about buying a Shared Ownership home, it is important to be aware of the costs involved in the purchase of the property and the monthly costs you will pay once you have moved into your new home. We have detailed some of the costs below.
When buying a Shared Ownership home, you will need to put down a deposit. This is the amount you pay toward the cost of the share you are buying at the time of purchase. The amount required for a deposit will vary from property to property, but the typical Shared Ownership deposit is 5% or 10% of the share you are purchasing. For example, if you buying a 25% share of a home with a full value of £300,000, the value of your share will be £75,000. If a 5% deposit was required, you would need to put down a deposit of £3,750.
Solicitor Fees
You will require a solicitor or licensed conveyancer to carry out the necessary legal work. You will need to have instructed a solicitor before your mortgage application can be submitted, and it’s important to check with your solicitor that they are approved to work for your mortgage lender. Solicitor’s fees will usually be based on a fixed cost basis.
First time buyers in Shared Ownership homes will pay zero Stamp Duty on the first £425,000 of any home that costs up to £625,000.
As a first time buyer, when purchasing a Shared Ownership property you will have the option of paying Stamp Duty on the full value of the property as if you were buying outright. The disadvantage here is the initial cost, with the advantage being that you will never have to pay Stamp Duty again – even if you go on to buy the property outright later at a higher price.
Alternatively, you can choose to only pay any Stamp Duty on the share that you are purchasing, which may well be less than the allowance for first time buyers. There may also be a Stamp Duty charge based on the rent payable over the term of the lease (lease premium) called the “net present value”. The advantage being to reduce the costs incurred at the time of purchase, the disadvantage being that the overall cost may be higher when you purchase 80% or more of the property.
If you have already purchased your property and did not elect to pay the full Stamp Duty at outset, then you will not be liable to pay more Stamp Duty until you purchase an 80% share of your home via the staircasing process.
The calculation of the Stamp Duty payable can be complicated and you should seek the advice of your solicitor or other legal adviser for the amount you may be liable to pay early in the process to find out what may be the best option in your circumstances.
Most mortgage brokers will charge a fee for their services and these can vary from a fixed amount to a percentage of the purchase price. A mortgage broker should explain clearly what fees are charged and when before they undertake any work on your behalf.
Each month you will make repayments on your mortgage, until the mortgage has been repaid. The amount you will pay towards your mortgage will be dependent on the value of the share you purchase, the deposit you put down, the remaining length of your mortgage term and the interest rate.
Shared Ownership homes are sold on a leasehold basis. When your lease is first issued, the rent that you pay is generally calculated at 3% of the share still owned by the housing association/landlord. This means that if you were to buy a 50% share of a property worth £200,000 the equity you would pay rent on is £100,000. If you divide the unsold equity by 100 and multiply by 3 you will get the total rent payable per annum. Just divide this by 12 to get the monthly rent payable! The amount of rent will vary for each home depending on the share you buy and the value of the property when you buy it.
Service charges are payments made by the homeowner to the housing association for the services they provide. These include maintenance and repairs to communal areas, insurance of the building and, in some cases, the provision of lifts, lighting, communal aerials, door entry systems, cleaning of common areas and grounds maintenance, etc. These charges will also usually include the costs of management. Service charges can vary from year to year, going up or down without any limit other than that they are reasonable.
Buildings insurance will be the responsibility of the Freeholder – quite often this will be the housing association, however the cost will often be included in the service charge.
Contents insurance – which covers all of the furniture, carpets, white goods and personal belongings in a home – is the responsibility of the person living in the property. It is not compulsory to purchase content insurance but it is advisable.
FAQs
Alterations can be made to your home, however we do request that permission is sought from bdht prior to any alteration taking place. External permissions may also be required, for example Building Control or Planning Permission.
The deposit required for your new home will be dependent on the requirements from your mortgage lender. Some lenders offer as little as 5%. The deposit is worked out from the share you are purchasing rather than the full market value.
No, under the terms of your lease a Shared Ownership property cannot be sublet. It is to be your sole main residence and you should not own another property anywhere, whether in the UK or abroad.
It may be possible for you to purchase a Shared Ownership property. Your eligibility would depend upon your personal circumstances and you meeting the other Shared Ownership criteria. Please contact us to discuss your individual circumstances further.
If your circumstances change and you wish to sell your property, you will need to inform bdht. The property would be marketed as normal via an estate agent. You would benefit from any increase in the value based on the percentage you own. For example the property has increased in value by £10,000 you own a 50% share, therefore you would benefit from £5000.
As a shared owner you will be responsible for all ongoing repairs to the property as per the terms of your lease.
However your property will be covered by a 12 month defects liability period with the builder, who will complete repairs due to poor workmanship or materials. Your property will also benefit from a minimum of 10 years cover against structural defects.
