We want to give a helping hand to people who are priced out of home ownership.
You can apply for Shared Ownership with us if:
- you don’t already own a home (or you’ve sold your current home before you purchase)
- your household income (i.e. the earnings, before tax, of the people who want to buy) is –
- less than £90,000 (if you're buying in London)
- £80,000 (if you're buying outside of London).
You'll get priority if you work for the Ministry of Defence and some applicants may also get priority if:
- you're a council or housing association tenant
- you already live or work in the area where you want to buy
- your local authority has put you forward.
If you’re unsure about whether you qualify just give us a call and we can talk through your situation 020 3811 1725.
Key information
We need to make sure of a few things before you apply for Shared Ownership.
Owning a home already
Priority goes to helping people buy their own home so current homeowners can’t apply. However, if you do own a home, you can still apply if it's already advertised for sale.
Minimum household income
All the homes we’re selling will include a guidance income. The guidance income is based on how much you would roughly need to earn in order to pay the housing costs. This is generally around 45% of your net monthly income.
If you want help working this out just call us on 020 3811 1725 for a chat.
What are the costs?
You’ll need to pay a deposit (usually 10% of the share you're buying). You’ll also need to be able to pay –
- legal costs
- survey fees
- mortgage arrangements
- stamp duty
- removals.
These costs will generally be at least £3,000 - £4,000 in total.
Find out more about affordability here.
Employment
We’ll need to see your last three months' pay slips. You may find it difficult to get a mortgage if you're still within a probationary period, or are employed on a temporary or fixed-term basis.
Similarly, it may be hard getting a mortgage if you're self-employed and don't have either audited accounts for the last two full years plus an estimate for the current year OR copies of your last three years' tax returns.
Only military personnel will be given priority over other groups. However, councils may have some priority groups, based on local housing needs.
Who doesn't qualify?
Shared ownership isn't available to you if you:
- already own a home you can't or won't sell once we offer you a Shared Ownership home
- your household income (i.e. the earnings, before tax, of the people who want to buy) is more than £90,000 (if you're buying in London)
- can't get a mortgage from a lender we approve (you must obtain a mortgage to buy a Shared Ownership property, unless you are unable to access lending due to your age, a disability or on religious grounds)
- can't prove you can afford to maintain a home in the long term.