After you move in

Our service doesn’t stop when you move in to your new home. You will have the details of a specific team to contact if you have any problems or queries.

Home improvements

You must ask for our permission before you proceed with any major improvements to the property.

General maintenance/repair and redecoration do not require our permission. Remember to keep all receipts for work completed as you may need to produce these when you sell the property or purchase more shares.

Re-mortgaging

At some stage, you may be able to secure a better repayment plan for your outstanding loan by changing mortgage lenders.

However, you may not borrow more than the original cost of the property and you will not be able to consolidate loans into the mortgage.

Arrears

Under shared ownership, you will be paying monthly mortgage repayments to your lender and monthly rent and service charges to us. It is important not to get into arrears on either payment as this may result in the repossession of your home.

Unfortunately, people can get into difficulties in paying the mortgage or rent and service charges. If you have problems with either repayment, you should contact the mortgage lender and us as soon as possible.

See our Money Matters pages for practical help and advice on financial issues.

Further advances or loans

These are not normally agreed unless they are to be used to acquire further shares of the property or to carry out essential repairs or maintenance.

If you'd like a further advance, please contact us for approval. You will be required to pay for a valuation to ensure that there is sufficient equity in the property.

Staircasing (increasing your share of the property)

You usually have the right to increase the share you own in your property and you may increase your share in minimum tranches of 10% until you own the property outright.

You will have to pay for the valuation of your home and it will be valued with and without any improvements undertaken. Provided that we have agreed these improvements, you can purchase the additional share at the price excluding the value of the improvements. You do not receive the actual cost of the improvements; only the value that they have added to the property.

Read more about buying more shares...

Selling your property

The lease agreement generally states that we have a period of time in which to find a suitable buyer for your share of the property. You will be required to pay for an open market valuation of the property and, possibly, our selling fee. If we are unable to find a buyer, then you may place the property with an estate agent and you will be responsible for their fees.

Professional advisers

You will need the services of a number of professional advisers. In this section we explain their roles.

The solicitor

Most people use a solicitor or licensed conveyancer to conduct the detailed work required to transfer ownership of a property. They must be properly insured, which in theory means that you should have some comeback if things go wrong.

They will charge you for their work and any costs incurred on your behalf (called disbursements). It is always recommended that you choose a professional who has significant experience in shared ownership as this should save considerable amounts of time and expense. Ask for our list of panel solicitors who will do the work on a fixed fee (plus disbursements) basis.

You should stay in regular contact with your solicitor to ensure that you are fully informed of the progress of your purchase and that you can meet the purchase timetable.

The mortgage lender

If you are purchasing your home with a mortgage, then you will have to arrange this.

Under the Financial Services Act, we're not able to offer financial advice or arrange mortgages.

You have a number of options available to you. You can go direct to a lender or you could contact an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) experienced in arranging shared ownership mortgages. Their service is often free and they deal with many lenders and are not tied to any building society or bank. They can also advise you on other financial products.

Nowadays, you will need a deposit to get a mortgage. It is important that you check that your lender has direct experience of shared ownership, as not all lenders will lend on this basis. We only accept mortgages from high street lenders such as banks or building societies and may challenge unusual terms such as high interest rates, type or length of mortgage. We will not accept ‘interest only’ mortgages. If you are uncertain about deposit requirements, the lender or mortgage, please contact us before making any commitments.

The surveyor

When you have chosen your property, your mortgage lender will instruct a surveyor to inspect and value it. You will be asked to pay for this when you apply for the mortgage.

The mortgage offer

Approximately two weeks after the inspection of the property, you should receive your mortgage offer, a copy of which must be sent to us for approval.

You will not be allowed to have a mortgage greater than the value of the share of the property that you are purchasing.