Shared Ownership
Shared Ownership is where an individual and a housing provider jointly own a property. It allows a person to buy a proportion of the property (usually between 25% and 75%) whilst the rest is owned by a Housing Association or similar entity. Shared Ownership is often used to make home ownership more affordable, particularly for first-time buyers who might not have enough savings for a full mortgage or down payment.
The key characteristics of Shared Ownership include:
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Part ownership: You own a percentage of the property and pay an Occupancy Charge for the rest until you own the property outright. You also pay all maintenance costs
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Staircasing: You have the option to buy more shares of the property over time ( in quarters i.e. 25%, 50% or 75%)
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Eligibility : You must meet certain criteria ‘qualify’ for Shared Ownership
We only have a small number of Shared Ownership properties in our Housing stock. We have in the past sought to maintain this stock by facilitating the sale of shares between Sharing Owners wishing to move on, however with the rapid increase in property values coupled with the tightening of lending criteria and other more attractive Ownership options we have found it increasingly difficult to facilitate onward sales.
For more information about this please see our Shared Ownership Policy.