YOUR GUIDE TO
Shared Ownership
What is Shared Ownership?
When you buy a home through our shared ownership scheme, you are buying the share that you can comfortably afford while paying rent to the Council for the share that you don’t own. This means you’ll take out a mortgage or pay in cash to buy a share (between 25% and 75% on most developments), and you will pay a subsidised rent for the share you haven’t purchased. You will also pay a charge for the maintenance of the building and communal parts, known as a service charge.
Why choose Shared Ownership?
Shared ownership is popular because it gives people an affordable way into home ownership, and overall monthly costs are usually less than you would pay in rent for an equivalent property on the open market.
How much will it cost?
Shared ownership is a part-buy, part-rent way of owning your own home.
By purchasing a share of a new home the deposit and mortgage you need will be less than if you were to buy the home in full on the open market. The initial share you can buy is between 25% and 75%*, with the rest owned by the Council.
You will raise a mortgage to buy the maximum share that you can afford** and pay rent on the remaining share you don’t own. The monthly costs will usually be less than if you were buying the property outright or privately renting a comparable property.
You only buy what you can afford initially so that you don’t overstretch yourself financially. After one year of ownership, you can buy more shares when you can afford to, or simply sell your share when you want to move.
Non-refundable Reservation Fee
If we are able to offer you a property we will ask you to pay £500 to reserve it. This is deducted from the final price of your purchase at completion.
Property Valuation
The amount you have to pay varies and in some cases additional fees may be required by your mortgage provider. Always ask your mortgage provider or mortgage adviser for a schedule of fees up front.
Legal Fees
You will need to instruct a solicitor to act on your behalf. Legal fees vary, so always ask for an estimate first. A solicitor who has experience of dealing with shared ownership sales will be able to give you a realistic quote or a fixed fee proposal.
Stamp Duty
Stamp duty will vary depending on the size of the share you buy and how you chose to pay it. Your solicitor will calculate this for you.
Find out now if you’re eligible…
Why choose Hackney Sales?
Our offer is unique, because we insist on the quality of our properties being 'tenure blind', which means you will get the same features in your home as someone who is buying the whole property. We also believe our homes should be for local people first, we prioritise current Hackney residents.
Shared Ownership
Step by Step
Find a property
Our properties are advertised on our website as well as the Share to buy website.
Affordability
We will put you in touch with an independent financial advisor who will establish whether the property is affordable for you based on a basic initial assessment.
Viewing
You will view either a completed property, show-home or off-plan marketing material.
Mortgage assessment
If you are offered a property, you will meet with an independent mortgage advisor to confirm that you can obtain a mortgage. The percentage of the home you can afford is dependent on a number of factors including your household income and deposit available.
Reservation
To reserve a home (either off-plan or a completed property), you will pay a non-refundable reservation fee of £500. Your identity will also be checked to comply with UK Money Laundering Regulations.
Appoint Solicitor
You will instruct a solicitor to act on your behalf to deal with the legal aspects of the sale. Visit our website to view our helpful glossary of commonly used home buying terms.
Memorandum of Sale
Once your mortgage assessment has been completed, we’ve confirmed your identity and you’ve instructed a solicitor, we will issue a Memorandum of Sale. This is a document which provides full details of the agreed sale and is sent to you, your solicitor and our solicitor. This is the trigger for all parties to begin progressing the sale.
Mortgage offer approval
When your mortgage lender has inspected the property and is satisfied to issue a formal mortgage offer, we will need to check the details of this and give our approval to the mortgage.
Exchange & Tour
When all parties are satisfied, contracts can exchange and we can move towards a completion date. If you haven’t seen your finished home by this time we will give you a tour and a home demonstration.
Completion
You are now a home owner! We will meet you at the property to hand over the keys and home user guide.