Ownership options
FirstSteps
Do you want to get on the property ladder? It may be more affordable than you think . The Government offers several different products under a scheme called FIRST STEPS through their endorsed website www.sharetobuy.com
Each product is designed to help a range of people including social housing tenants, key workers and first-time buyers to buy a share of a home and get onto the housing ladder.
Below, we explain how the HomeBuy products that we offer work. Please note that you will usually need to live or work in the area to buy a home developed for low-cost home ownership. to find out more about any scheme, contact our Home ownership team.
1. Shared Ownership
This allows you to you buy part of your home (usually 25-40 %) with a mortgage and pay a subsidised affordable rent to a housing association on the remaining part. Later, you can buy further shares until you own your home outright.
As an owner you pay service charges and you are responsible for your own repairs. You would also contribute your share towards any major repairs to the building.
As well as brand-new homes, you may be able to buy a previously developed shared ownership home from its current owner.
This is the most popular method of affordable home ownership - for more details please read the section on shared ownership.
Other schemes
Housing association and local authority tenants also have access to the following schemes for buying the home they live in:
- Right to Aquire - for some housing association tenants who meet the required criteria, who are interested in buying their existing homes at a discount.
- Right to Buy or Preserved Right to Buy – this a scheme that is very similar to 'Right to Aquire' (above) but for local authority tenants or tenants who have been transferred from a local authority to a housing association.
If you would like further information or to see if you are eligible, please contact us.
