Shared Ownership is an affordable way to get on the housing ladder and buy your own home because your mortgage and deposit are less than if you bought your home outright.
Patricia, a Leeds Federated customer, shares her experience of buying a Shared Ownership home…
“Before buying my home, I didn’t know much about Shared Ownership and when I asked friends and colleagues they didn’t have much information either. There were a lot of misconceptions with people thinking that because it’s rent and a mortgage it’s double the cost which just isn’t true. I wish I’d known about Shared Ownership years ago…it’s changed my life!”
What is Shared Ownership?
With Shared Ownership, you buy between 10% and 75% of your home with a mortgage and deposit and pay an affordable rent on the rest. This means you need a smaller deposit and mortgage.
“During Covid I was renting and my rent started to jump up by £200. I could see this would be a trend, so I started looking at different options. What first struck me about Shared Ownership was that people who’d saved £5k or 10k could buy a home and that the rent increases would be limited.”
Rent charges on Shared Ownership homes are set at an affordable rate by the Government as an incentive to help people get on the housing ladder. This means, as the landlord, we can’t put rent up at the same rate as private landlords.
We also carry out additional affordability checks through Metro Finance to make sure people can cover the costs of Shared Ownership and to protect them from going into debt.
“I saw a Shared Ownership home I liked and applied to Leeds Federated. They checked I could afford the costs which gave peace of mind and after that, buying my Shared Ownership home followed the same process as buying any other home. I reserved my home in November, appointed a solicitor to manage the purchase, and then moved in the following April.”
Who’s eligible to buy a Shared Ownership home?
You need:
You’ll also need be one of the following:
“The economy is difficult, people with decent incomes can no longer get homes. It’s harder for everyone but Shared Ownership is a great opportunity to get in and work your way up. My rented flat had a leaking roof, mouldy wall and a carpet the landlord wouldn’t replace. Now I own my home, can make it how I want and can move up to buying it all.”
Buying more of your home through staircasing
Through Shared Ownership you can buy more of your home in stages through a process called staircasing. In most cases, people can buy 100% of their home over time. If you decide you want to sell your Shared Ownership home you can either sell the percentage you own to someone else and they’ll take over the rent or you can sell the whole home as you would any other property without a Shared Ownership option.
“I’m a huge advocate for Shared Ownership and Leeds Federated now. I didn’t think it would be possible to buy my own home but it is possible…I’ve got a permanent home now that I can do what I want with. It’s my home and there’s nothing more secure than having a home.”
Find out more about Shared Ownership
If you’re interested in finding out more: