Buying a resale shared ownership home

Shared ownership lets you buy a percentage of a home and pay rent and service charges for the share you don’t own. You may even be able to buy more shares in your home when, and if, you can afford it.

• Aspiring homeowners unable to afford to buy a home outright
• People looking to buy on their own, with friends or family

• You don’t currently own a home, or have an interest in a home and can’t afford to buy one outright
• You have at least a 5% deposit available for the percentage of the home you would like to purchase
• Your combined household income is less than £80,000 (or £90,000 in London)
• You can afford the monthly mortgage rent and service charge payments

Shared ownership customers are leaseholders. Your lease tells you:

• What obligations you and Home Group must stick to
• What to expect from us
• Your rights and responsibilities including repairs and maintenance
• How and how often your rent and service charge is reviewed
• What is included in your service charge

There’s lots to think about when buying a home, but here is some important information about shared ownership:

• If you already own, or part own, a home you must sell it either before or at the same time as buying through shared ownership
• You will pay monthly rent on the share of the home you do not own and a service charge
• In most leases you are responsible for all repairs and maintenance inside the home. And if you live in a house you will usually be responsible for the maintenance and repairs outside your home too. You don’t want to be taken by surprise by repairs, so check your lease or ask your advisor
• Any repairs we carry out will usually be paid for through your service charge
• With many shared ownership homes you can buy more shares (staircase) until you own 100% your home. But, this isn’t always the case. There are restrictions with some leases, so check the lease or ask your advisor
• You must purchase at least the share owned by the current owner
• Part of what’s great about owning a home is putting your own identity on it. If you are planning a home improvement (we don’t mean a bit of paint or wallpaper) then you must get written approval from us before you start
• You will be asked to complete a financial assessment with an independent financial adviser. We do this to check it’s the right home for your budget
• Your shared ownership home must be your main home