What is Shared Ownership & the benefits?

Shared Ownership offers you the opportunity to purchase a share in a new build property. You pay a mortgage on the share you own and pay rent to St Arthur Homes on the remaining share. As you only need a mortgage for the share you are buying, the amount required for a deposit is typically much lower when compared to purchasing a home outright. Please refer to our handy guide – Shared Ownership Buyers Guide

Shared Ownership Buyer’s Guide

There are some eligibility criteria that must be met, the general criteria is as follows:

– You must be at least 18 years old.
– Outside of London your annual household income must be less than £80,000.
– In London, your annual household income must be less than £90.000.
– You cannot own another home. Shared Ownership purchasers are often first time buyers but if you do already own another property (either in the UK or abroad), 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.

In regards to a deposit, you will generally need between 5-10% of the equity share that you are purchasing.

Please refer to our handy guide – Getting Mortgage Ready

Getting Mortgage Ready

Yes! Once you have lived in your home and decide you wish to purchase further shares you can do so through a process known as staircasing. Through staircasing this allows you to build up the percentage you own in your home all the way up to 100% ownership. Please refer to our handy guide – Buying More Shares in your Shared Ownership Home.

The route to staircasing depends on whether you bought under the original shared ownership scheme or under the new shared ownership model. Please refer to your Lease for more details.

If you bought under the original scheme and want to buy additional shares in your home, you’ll first need to contact your housing provider and give notice that you intend to staircase. You’ll need to arrange (and pay for) an independent valuer to value your home. Once you get a copy of the valuation, you’ll be asked to confirm whether you would like to proceed with the process.

If you bought under the new model you have the option to staircase by 1% each year for 15 years from the date of purchase. If you take up the option of 1% shared ownership staircasing, the price of a 1% share will be based on the original price of your home, increased or decreased in line with the House Price Index (HPI). You won’t be required to pay for an independent valuation.

Buying more shares in your Shared Ownership home

If you have decided its time to move on you can sell your home and the first step is to notify St Arthur Homes. In the first instance St Arthur Homes will have a period of time (typically 4 weeks) to market and sell your home and if we find a buyer the process from there is similar to the one you went through when you bought your home. If a buyer isn’t found during this time then you can choose to sell your property privately or through an estate agent of your choice.

Selling your Shared Ownership home