Use the links below to find a wide range of information relating to guide you through the shared ownership process.
In this section...
Shared ownership offers a home ownership opportunity for those who may not be able to purchase a home outright at the full market value.
This scheme allows for a share (25-75%) to be purchased in a property while you pay rent on the remaining share. Over time you can buy the remaining shares of the property up to 100%.
There are many benefits to shared ownership, including:
We know that the process of buying a home can be daunting. If you would like to talk to someone about the shared ownership purchase process, you can speak to a member of our team on 0800 0285 700 or email us at sharedownership@phoenixch.org.uk
We’d be happy to answer your questions and discuss any concerns you may have.
To be eligible for a shared ownership home you must have a combined annual household income of no more than £90,000 within London, or £80,000 outside of London.
Getting a mortgage for a shared ownership home will be based on you having a reasonable credit rating. You can find more information on credit scores at Money Saving Expert or Money Advice Service.
We will need to perform checks to ensure that the shares in the home you would like to buy are affordable for you to purchase. It is important that we establish you can sustain the housing costs before offering you a home.
Generally speaking, no more than 45% of your Net annual household income should be spent on housing costs.
When you buy a home there are lots of costs involved, in addition to the initial purchase cost. It’s important to consider whether the purchase costs and the ongoing costs of home ownership are affordable to you.
You will need approximately £5,000 to cover the initial costs of buying a home. If your purchase requires Stamp Duty Land Tax, this amount will increase. These costs cover things like:
You should also consider the removal costs of moving home and any connection fees e.g. re-connection to internet provision.
If you take out a mortgage your lender may charge you a mortgage application fee. This can also be known as an arrangement fee.
If you choose to appoint an Independent Financial Advisor to arrange your mortgage, they will charge a fee for arranging the loan on your behalf.
When you apply for a mortgage your bank or building society will normally carry out their own valuation survey which you will need to pay for.
The valuation is carried out to help the lender decide whether the property is mortgageable, and how much they will loan you, based on the value and condition of the property. The way it works is:
Note: The valuation is not a full structural survey and you would need to pay for this separately if you choose to have one.
Stamp duty is a Government tax that you pay when you buy a property that costs more than £125,000. The rate only applies to that part of the property price that falls within each band. There are some stamp duty exemptions for first-time buyers. Stamp duty calculators are available online and can help to calculate how much tax you may need to pay.
As a home purchase is a legally binding transaction you must also appoint a solicitor or licensed conveyancer to act on your behalf. Your solicitor will charge you for the legal work (conveyancing) involved in the purchase of your property. You will also be charged for something called ‘disbursements’. These are additional fixed costs which include:
To make sure that you enjoy all the benefits of a shared ownership home, you must also consider the on-going costs that you will have to pay each month and which will typically include:
Calculate your potential running costs by using our downloadable budget planner.
Each month you’ll make a payment to your mortgage lender by direct debit for an agreed repayment amount to reduce your mortgage debt.
Buying a shared ownership home means that you will be paying an affordable rent in addition to your mortgage repayment. This is collected monthly by direct debit. Your rent will be reviewed in April each year, as agreed in your lease. We will write to you in advance if your rent amount will change.
Service charges are set out in the lease and should be considered carefully. They may cover all day-to-day and future repairs and maintenance to the outside of the building and all the shared areas. This could be the roof, communal TV aerial, entry phones – anything that is available to everyone in the building. Service charges are collected monthly by direct debit and cover services such as:
The cost of insuring the contents of your home. You must arrange this cover yourself and pay it directly to your provider. It can be useful to use comparison sites to ensure you’re getting the best available deal.
Your lender may require you to take out life insurance which would pay off your mortgage in the event of your death. This type of insurance is particularly important if you have a family. If you have a private pension this may include life insurance, always check with your provider and ensure that the cover meets the outstanding mortgage balance.
This is payable directly to the local authority and is due from you whether you own your home or rent one. If you live alone or are on a low income you may be eligible for a discount. Check with your local authority for more information.
This is the cost of utilities such as electricity, gas, water rates, tv licence, telephone, television subscription, broadband.
Any home improvements would need to be accounted for separately and could cost several thousand pounds. Please don’t forget to check your lease before carrying out works to ensure that they are permitted.
Down the line you may need information on repairs and maintenance, you may want to increase the share of the property that you own, or you may decide it’s time to move on. Here’s some information to help you with those questions.
Home Owners are responsible for all repairs and maintenance to the interior and exterior of the property including boundary fencing, paths and parking areas within their ownership. The responsibilities are slightly different if you are living in a shared ownership apartment – you will only be responsible for internal decorations, glazing, maintenance and repairs. We are responsible for the maintenance and redecoration of the internal common parts and all external parts such as roof, gutters, window frames and communal aerials.
With all new homes, there are bound to be teething problems. Most of these will be minor, like cracking as the property dries out, or ‘sticking’ doors or windows. The builder is responsible for putting right any defects that may occur during the ‘defects liability’ period that may run from between 6 and 12 months after the handover of a new property. If you identify any defects, just let us know and we will arrange for the builder to put the problem right.
Your new build home is also covered by a National House Builders Council’s (NHBC) warranty or equivalent, which covers your home for defects in building workmanship for the first two years after you move in and for structural problems for 10 years. We will notify you when the period of your warranty expires.
You have the choice of purchasing more shares in your home if you want to. This is called ‘staircasing’. The price you pay for additional shares is based on the market value of your home at the time you want to buy. This value can go up or down according to the market value.
If you want to staircase the value will be set by an independent valuer. There will be some costs involved in staircasing such as a valuation fee and solicitor’s fees.
We hope you have many happy years in your new home and if you ever feel the time has come to move on, you can sell your home at any time.
Firstly, you must tell us in writing, that you wish to sell your share in the property to enable us to market it for you. This can help you as it saves you the expense of going to an estate agent and doing all the hard work yourself. If we are unable to find a buyer, you can sell your home through an estate agent in the normal way.
Like staircasing, the price you sell your home for will be based on the market value at the time. As with any home, the value can rise and fall along with the property market. You cannot sell your shares for more than their market value.
Our home ownership team are here to help. If you would like to speak to someone about Shared Ownership, call us on 0800 0285 700 or email us at sharedownership@phoenixch.org.uk