Shared Ownership is an affordable home ownership scheme which makes it easier for eligible purchasers to get on the property ladder. Buyers get a mortgage for the share they can afford, and pay rent on the remaining share.
No – this is a common misconception but the ‘shared’ aspect of the scheme simply means you’re sharing ownership of your home with a housing association.
If you decide to buy a Shared Ownership home in Somerset, you’re effectively purchasing a portion of your property. Your initial share will usually be between 25% to 75%, paying a mortgage on the part that you own and a below market value rent on the remaining share.
Yes – Shared Owners can choose to buy additional shares in their property by ‘staircasing’.
When buying a Shared Ownership home, you will initially purchase a minimum percentage somewhere between 25% to 75%. Down the line, if you find that your financial circumstances have changed, buyers will have the option to buy more shares.
If you choose to buy a higher percentage, your mortgage repayments will increase while the rent you pay will decrease. In the majority of cases there aren’t any restrictions and you can buy 100% of your home – in this instance, you would become the outright owner.
As a home-buying product aimed at helping those who can’t afford to purchase a property on the open market, there are certain requirements that buyers will need to meet to be considered eligible for Shared Ownership.
For example, there are caps on household income which means that you must earn less than £80,000 to be eligible for the scheme – or less than £90,000 if you would like to buy a home in London. The criteria also states that buyers must be at least 18 years of age and do not own another property either in the UK or abroad.
Shared Ownership properties enable you to put down a smaller deposit compared to those required on the open market – buyers will usually need to put down 5% to 10% of the share that they’re buying, rather than the full market value of the home.
On a monthly basis, buyers will be required to pay their mortgage, a subsidised rent and service charge on their home, however, these repayments often work out cheaper than or equal to renting privately in the same area. Other costs to consider when buying a home include solicitor and mortgage broker fees – you can find out more about these costs on Share to Buy.
Share to Buy lists thousands of Shared Ownership homes all across Somerset and beyond – including new build properties and those available through resale.
Shared Ownership is available on a variety of homes including cosy studios, stylish apartments and traditional family homes. Check out our property search tool to start looking for your new home today!
The major providers of Shared Ownership, Help to Buy and other affordable ways to buy a home in Somerset and nationwide have their homes listed on Share to Buy.
Share to Buy is the leading online portal for Shared Ownership properties. Established in 2004 as the UK’s first specialist online mortgage broker for affordable home ownership products, the site has since developed into a one stop shop for first time buyers, offering the country’s largest listing of Shared Ownership homes from many of the UK’s biggest housing providers.
Share to Buy is the nation’s biggest and best established affordable home ownership property portal, making it the ideal website for first time buyers looking to take that first step onto the property ladder.
Using our property search tool, you can search for homes that suit your needs via filters such as location, number of bedrooms, monthly outgoings and deposit amount. You can also set up alert preferences so you’ll be notified when new properties that meet your search are announced by email.
Acting as a one stop shop for first time buyers, Share to Buy also offers handy FAQs and guides, interactive mortgage tools, mortgage broker and conveyancing panels, and live events to help potential purchasers on their home-buying journey.
If you are a housing association or developer selling properties through Shared Ownership, Help to Buy and other affordable home ownership schemes, we can list your new build and resale homes on the Share to Buy property portal.
As well as working alongside Registered Providers, we also partner with private sellers who are looking to sell their current Shared Ownership home.
Find out more about advertising your Shared Ownership property on Share to Buy.
“The Shared Ownership calculator on Share to Buy gave me a really clear understanding of what my budget was and what my monthly outgoings would be, including rent and service charge. The buying process of Shared Ownership was really simple - I bought a 35% share of my property and eventually plan on staircasing to own more of it.”
“A friend at work had just signed up on the Share to Buy website and said I should register too. I didn’t know much about Shared Ownership so the Share to Buy website was really helpful, giving me all the information that I needed about the scheme. It turned out that there were a few properties in my area, so I registered for all of them!”
I viewed the flat online and thought it looked great, but once I saw it I person, it felt so much bigger.
If you’re a first time buyer, then it can be easy to worry that home ownership is out of your reach. With Shared Ownership homes in Somerset though, that vital first step onto the property ladder is more accessible than you may realise. Similarly, Help to Buy homes in Somerset offer wonderful options to buyers looking to unlock their property ambitions in locations they love.
Do you want to keep up to date with the latest Shared Ownership and Help to Buy properties in Somerset? All you have to do is sign up to Share to Buy and register to receive alerts. We’ll then send you email notifications when relevant properties are added to the market.
If you asked someone to imagine the ideal English county, there’s a good chance that what they would come up with would look something like Somerset. However, the imagination can’t do justice to this stunning piece of south west magic.
The scenic Quantock Hills with its rocky coastline, the limestone hills which are perfect for exploration, the smoky East Somerset Railway, the millennium-long history of Dunster Castle, the caves which stretch back 60,000 years, and the remains of the legendary Glastonbury Abbey. These are just a few examples of the type of unforgettable experiences available to those who decide to set foot in Somerset’s borders.
There’s so many in fact, that it would probably take a lifetime to experience them all. Even then, you might just fall short. It’s no wonder that so many people spend their lives soaking in everything the area and its surroundings has to offer.
Of course, a big part of the reason there’s so much to see, do and experience in Somerset is that as a county, it is far more than a single place. This is an area made up of many unique parts, all coming together to create a whole that is as astonishing in its variety as it is in its beauty. And the examples we’ve mentioned are only some of the attractions that make it into tourist guides. That’s because Somerset is a community with just as many memories being made in its high streets, parks and cafes.
We can’t mention Somerset without talking about the incredible cultural impact the area has had in the past and continues to have as it offers inspiration for the future. This is the home of Wordsworth, traditional English music and dance, and remains at the forefront of the artistic world, thanks to Glastonbury festival, Bath Literature Festival and the West Country Carnivals, to give but a few examples.
Somerset creates incredible moments for those who visit. Just imagine how many it can make for those who are lucky enough to call it home.
The housing market is set to see some significant updates next year Following the change in government earlier in the year, Chancellor Rachel Reeves presented her first Autumn Budget on October 30th 2024, outlining the Labour Party’s key priorities. Here’s what you need to know about the impact the Budget will have on the housing…
Dreaming of owning your own home in London, but feeling overwhelmed by rising private rents and the cost of living? You’re not alone. Many people wonder how to break into the London property market without stretching their finances to the limit. The answer may be simpler than you think: Shared Ownership. Let’s break down Shared…
One bedroom apartments available in Winchester now! Saving enough for a deposit on a home is arguably the biggest obstacle facing house hunters today, and it’s largely due to the rising costs of everyday essentials and high mortgage rates we’re all experiencing. A recent survey from Nationwide found that 88% of aspiring homeowners have had…
