Shared Ownership

Shared Ownership is designed to help more people onto the housing ladder.

The idea is that you buy a share that you can afford in the property, and pay a subsidised rent on the share of the property which you do not own. These costs should be lower than the cost of getting a mortgage on the whole property.

This type of purchase allows flexibility because, if you want to, you can buy further shares in the property as and when you can afford it. In most cases you could own the property outright if you chose to.

Who is eligible?

The scheme is designed to help people who need help to afford the cost of buying a home that is suitable to their needs. To buy, you need to:

Be unable to afford to buy a home on the open market.

Be able to afford the cost of buying the share you want to buy without overstretching yourself financially.

Have a household income of less than £60,000 per year. This is because the government considers that you should not be borrowing more than 3 x joint income or 3.5 x single income to buy a home.

Have enough savings to pay for a deposit for the mortgage, usually 15% or more of the purchase price, and enough savings to cover the associated cost of buying your home, e.g. solicitors fee, mortgage agreement fee etc. You should budget for approximately £2,500. These costs cannot be added to your mortgage as you cannot secure borrowing against our share of the property.

You should also bear in mind that:

There may be a planning requirement to demonstrate your local connections to a specific area, this is not necessarily the case for all schemes.

You do not have to be a first time buyer but you cannot buy a shared ownership home as a second home or as an investment. If you own a home already, you will have to complete the sale of it before you can complete your purchase.

You can buy a property that has one bedroom more than the minimum that you need. For example, a single person or a couple could buy a one or two bedroom property. A couple with one child could buy a three bedroom property

Leaflets

How to apply

To apply for a particular scheme, please contact the Home Ownership Team by telephone on 0808 202 7728, or e-mail homeownership@coastlinehousing.co.uk.