This scheme allows you to own a property jointly with a housing association. You start by purchasing as little as 25 per cent, but you can build up a larger stake, eventually moving to full ownership, if you want to. You pay subsidised rent on the rest of your home.
Buying a new home
You may be trying to get onto the property ladder, but struggling to find a suitable mortgage.
The new Homes and Communities Agency in the North West may be able to help. There are a number of shared ownership and shared equity schemes, open to households earning less than £60,000 a year, to help you if you are finding it hard to save for a large enough deposit
In the sections below you will find a summary of the new HomeBuy schemes that are now available – you can find more details on each of these by visiting the Homes and Community Agency's web site.
New Build HomeBuy
Open Market HomeBuy
Under this scheme, you are the sole owner and there is no rent to pay on your home. You take out an equity loan from one of the products below to top up your mortgage:
MyChoice HomeBuy: An organisation called Chase made up of eight housing associations will lend you between 15 and 50 per cent of the property value. You will pay a small fee on this loan. The mortgage to meet the rest of the purchase price can be taken out with any lender.
Ownhome HomeBuy: A housing association called Places for People will lend you between 20 and 40 per cent of the property value. You will pay a small fee on the loan, but nothing will be due for five years. The mortgage to meet the rest of the purchase price must be taken out with the Co-operative Bank.
Having this equity loan will enable you to buy a higher-value home. When you sell the home, you will share any increase or decrease in value with the housing association providing the loan. Under this scheme, you can buy any house from any estate agent.
HomeBuy Direct
Like Open Market HomeBuy, this is a shared equity scheme. Your equity loan, covering between 15 and 30 per cent of the property value, will be provided equally by the Government and a developer. This scheme covers only certain newly built properties. You will pay a small fee on the loan but nothing will be due for the first five years. You will need to take out a conventional mortgage with any lender to meet the rest of the purchase price.
Some developers are already taking pre-applications for this scheme. It will be fully open soon - see the Housing Corporation's web site for the latest information.
Rent to HomeBuy
Under this scheme, you rent a newly built property from a housing association at 80 per cent of the market rent for up to five years. At the end of that time, you have the option to buy the home. This means that you can take advantage of the low rent to save for a deposit.
To apply for these schemes, you can find your local HomeBuy agent on Directgov.
