Everything you need to know about shared ownership with Shal.

Shared ownership is a way to get onto the property ladder, where you buy part of the home, and pay rent to Shal for the remaining part.

Buying in this way means you need a smaller deposit, and your monthly mortgage payments will be smaller than if you bought the whole home. You will need to meet certain criteria to be eligible for the shared ownership scheme.

All the information you need to know about the shared ownership scheme can be found on the Gov.uk website.

The cost of shared ownership depends on how much the home is valued at, and what percentage of the home you want to buy. The minimum initial share of a Shal home that can be purchased is 25%, and the maximum is 75%. This means if a home is valued at £200,000, the cost of purchasing 25% of this would be £50,000.

The fees you would need to pay to buy a shared ownership home are:

• A reservation fee to confirm your interest in the home – £500
• A valuation fee – this is a legal requirement to confirm the amount you will pay for the home. If you are using a mortgage to buy your home, your bank will arrange this valuation for you. If you are not using a mortgage, you will need to arrange this valuation and it must be done by a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
• Legal fees – you will need to find a solicitor to guide you through the shared ownership buying process. Shop around to find the best rates, and see if you can find someone with experience in shared ownership.
• Stamp duty – your solicitor will be able to advise you if this is something you need to pay.

More information about the costs involved in buying a shared ownership home can be found on the Gov.uk website.

Once you have completed your shared ownership purchase, you will then need to cover the ongoing costs of owning and renting your home:

• Monthly mortgage payments
• Monthly rent – this will be confirmed in your lease, and will increase yearly in line with inflation
• Service charge – this will be confirmed in your lease, and budgets and accounts will be shared with you every year
• Insurance – Shal provide buildings insurance and recover the cost of this through your monthly rent. You will need to arrange your own contents insurance
• Council tax and utility bills – you will be responsible for these bills.

In most cases, you can buy up to 100% of your shared ownership home. This is called ‘staircasing’. Your lease will confirm when you are able to do this.

Some of our homes are part of rural schemes and ownership can be limited to a maximum of 80%. If your home falls under this condition, we will let you know before you buy it.

More information about staircasing can be found on the Gov.uk website.

If your home is a new build, it will come with an independent builder’s guarantee. Your solicitor will let you know about the guarantee before you complete your purchase.

As a shared ownership tenant, you will be responsible for repairs and maintenance of your home. This includes health & safety compliance checks, like gas and electrical safety checks. This will be included in your lease.

If you want to carry out work on your home or make any changes, you will need permission from us before completing the works. You might also need approval from your mortgage lender and planning permission, depending on the work. We can help you work out permissions needed if you do want to make a change.