What Is Shared Ownership?
Shared ownership helps to keep the costs of buying a home low, giving those who do not currently own a home the chance to purchase a share in a new build or resale property. The scheme is a cross between buying and renting, and allows the purchaser to buy a share in a property of the purchase price, and then pay rent on the remaining share.
The purchaser pays a mortgage on the share they own – initially between 25% - 75% – and pays an affordable rent to Accent on the remaining share they don't own. The purchaser then has an option to buy additional shares in the property until they eventually own 100%, this is what's known as 'staircasing.'
Why buy a shared ownership home?
Shared ownership schemes are for people who would like to own their own home, but cannot afford to obtain a mortgage to buy a home outright. The scheme is more affordable than buying a home outright because:
- The affordable rent is less than the rate charged on the open market.
- You can start by purchasing just a 25% share in most cases.
- The deposit you need for a mortgage can be as little as 5% of the price of the share you are buying, not of the whole property.
Am I eligible for Shared Ownership?
There are lots of myths surrounding shared ownership, including that it is only for first time buyers or key workers. This isn't true, but there are some rules:
- You will need a deposit, usually between 5%-10% of the equity share you are buying.
- You will not be able to purchase a shared ownership home if you are in a position to afford to buy a similar home outright.
- It must be your only home. (So you'll either be a first-time buyer, or someone who used to own a home but doesn't anymore, and can't afford to buy one now).
- You'll also need to show that you are not currently in rent arrears and that you have a good credit history.
Does Accent have any Shared Ownership homes for sale?
All our available homes for sale are now available to view on homemadehomes.com. Homemade is the experienced property sales team within Accent offering both new and resale shared ownership homes. We have Shared Ownership properties across the country, from Surrey to Yorkshire and have helped hundreds of people fulfil their home ownership ambitions.
