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 Westhoughton, 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 Westhoughton 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 Westhoughton 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.
I viewed the flat online and thought it looked great, but once I saw it I person, it felt so much bigger.
“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!”
“The deposit for buying a Shared Ownership property was much lower than I was expecting - there’s definitely no way that I would have been able to buy without the Shared Ownership scheme. With staircasing, I could buy more shares in the property, eventually amounting to 100%. At that point the flat would fully be mine and I wouldn’t have to pay any rent!”
Many first-time buyers can feel worried that home ownership is a prospect beyond their reach. Thankfully, Shared Ownership homes in Westhoughton could be the answer you need to take that vital first step onto the property ladder. Help to Buy homes in Westhoughton also offers excellent options for buyers looking to get the keys to their dream home.
To stay updated with the latest Shared Ownership and Help to Buy properties in Westhoughton, all you need to do is sign up to Share to Buy. From there, you can register to receive alerts when new properties become available in your desired location.
There are many places throughout the country that are made better by the fact that they are, in essence, a melting pot of so many different things. We’re not sure there is a single finer example of this than the town of Westhoughton in Greater Manchester.
It’s also part of the borough of Bolton, is historically in Lancashire and incorporates many different former villages and hamlets, including the likes of Four Gates, Hunger Hill, Hart Common, Dobb Brow, Wingates and more. Even in terms of geography, the many different ingredients which make Westhoughton such a deliciously inviting place to be are vast.
This is all without even mentioning the rich history and character of each of these individual places. The traditions and quirks that are leftover make Westhoughton such a unique and colourful area to live. Many places have their own culture, but few have as many as Westhoughton. You only need to walk around the town to appreciate this, thanks to the many beautiful buildings which brighten up the streets.
Speaking of beauty, one thing that all the areas within Westhoughton have in common is the astonishing natural wonders that are found in almost every corner. From Rivington Pike and Winter Hill to its Central Park, there are so many incredible places for nature lovers to roam and for families to enjoy a healthy, affordable day out.
It’s also important not to forget all the little things too which help bring a community together like the schools and the businesses. These are every bit as important as any tourist attraction. Finally, its close proximity to the likes of Manchester and Wigan means that Westhoughton is a place of great opportunity, with even more jobs and experiences available via the M61 motorway and Westhoughton and Daisy Hill railway station.
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