Shared Ownership Scheme

Anyone can qualify for Shared Ownership but the best people to talk to first would be a mortgage adviser to see if you can obtain the mortgage in the first place. Then, you need to speak with some housing associations to see if you qualify with them. Typical housing associations who offer shared ownership may be Orbit Housing, Moat Housing or Hyde Housing to name but a few.
Not all Housing associations offer Shared Ownership to every area in the UK so please search online if you wish to find your local Housing Association who offers Shared Ownership in your area.

Shared ownership can be obtained for people who have had credit problems or bad credit in the past. It does depend on how bad the bad credit is but if its historic and not too bad, then you may be eligible to get a mortgage for one.
These are great schemes and like Help to Buy in the fact they help people get on the property ladder in times of low income and rising property prices.

If you can’t quite afford the mortgage on 100% of a home, Shared Ownership offers you the chance to buy a share of your home (between 25% and 75% of the home’s value) and pay rent on the remaining share. Later, you could buy bigger shares when you can afford to.
With Shared Ownership you can buy a newly built home or an existing one through resale programmes from housing associations or your local council.

These are the important first steps in the Shared Ownership process:

It is important to note Shared Ownership and Help to Buy Shared Equity schemes are different.
With shared ownership, you only own a part of the property with an option to buy more.
With Shared Equity, you own all the property from the start but must repay a proportion of its value when you sell it – equivalent to the proportion of government equity you took to buy it.

To buy a home through a shared ownership scheme please contact your local housing association or help to buy agent in your area.

It can be a good way (or the only way) to get on to the property ladder – or live in a much bigger home than if you bought outright.
And because you are only buying a share, the mortgage you will need to secure against the home will be significantly smaller than if you were to buy without the scheme.

You may also be able to save extra cash after you’ve paid your rent, which you can invest later in further shares of your home.

Even if you are eligible for Shared Ownership, not all lenders offer mortgages for Shared Ownership homes.
Once moved in, you won’t be able to make any major changes or improvements unless it’s stated you can in the lease and you have permission from the landlord.
If you decide to sell before owning 100% of a Shared Ownership home, the housing association has the right to find you the buyer. And even once you own 100% of it, you may have to give the housing association first refusal when you come to sell.

To buy a home through a shared ownership scheme contact the Help to Buy agent in the area where you want to live.