Shared Ownership

With soaring property prices throughout the UK, the Government is keen to encourage people onto the housing ladder. It believes the best way is through Shared Ownership. Most Shared Ownership homes are offered by Housing Associations.

Shared Ownership works like this:

The Housing Association owns a property, which could be a flat or a house. Because property prices are so expensive and you don't have the resources to buy the whole property, you buy part of it, say half of it. You can either buy your half with cash, or with a mortgage, or a mixture of both. Whichever way you choose, you genuinely own half the property.

The other half is owned by the Housing Association. You pay rent on this part of the property.

And that's all there is to it - you share the ownership of the property with the Housing Association.

You get some really good benefits with Shared Ownership:

• You can remain in your home for as long as you like, which could be for the rest of your life if you choose - that's incredible peace of mind and security!
• You get more choice as to where you live and more control over what happens to you - that's really reassuring!

With our scheme, you'll enjoy two further benefits not normally associated with Shared Ownership purchase:

• The repairs and maintenance of your home are the responsibility of the Housing Association. Normally, these costs would be down to you.
• Sometimes, property values fall which could leave you owing more on the mortgage than you share of the property is worth. But with our scheme, the Housing Association guarantees you'll never owe any money if property prices fall at any time.