Heylo Housing: Get on the property ladder with Home Reach

First time homebuyers on a budget don’t need to compromise

For most homebuyers, agreeing a budget is the first step to getting on the housing ladder – what you can afford will usually decide what you buy, even if this means compromising on bedroom numbers, a garden or your perfect location. Home Reach from heylo housing group removes these restrictions and transforms how home ownership works; it is an exciting new way for people to buy the home they really love and want to live in, by enabling them to purchase a part of it.

How does it work?

Buying a property with Home Reach unlocks an exciting range of new homes you thought you’d never be able to consider. It enables you to buy a share of your dream home (up to 75%) and pay a monthly rent on the share you don’t buy, with new houses and apartments – from modern one bedroom apartments to five bedroom family houses – available across England from a huge range of housebuilders.

Your budget determines your initial share; you can purchase a bigger share of a lower-priced or smaller home, or a smaller share of a larger or more expensive property.

What are the benefits?

You will live in your new home just the same as if you bought it outright and you won’t need to compromise on style or specification because the property is the same as those available from your developer on the open market.

The scheme is open to first time buyers and home movers, provided your household income does not exceed £80,000 (£90,000 in London). Unlike the government’s Help to Buy equity loan scheme, Home Reach is available to people who have owned a property in the past but do not do so now, perhaps because of divorce or financial difficulties.

In addition, buying a home through Home Reach is usually more affordable than using Help to Buy. A deposit of just 5% is required and is based on the size of the share purchased, while Help to Buy requires a 5% deposit on the full price of the home. Buyers are also only required to pay stamp duty on the share they purchase.

Unlike traditional part buy – part rent alternatives, people are not limited to buying a home in the area where they already live or work and do not face restrictions in selling their home on the open market when they are ready to move on.

Melissa Toomey, Director of Sales, comments: “Home Reach gives people a very wide choice of new homes, in areas where they choose to live and could not otherwise afford. It is a way onto the ladder – and into your dream home – when your budget will only stretch so far. As a Shared Ownership scheme, Home Reach allows people to purchase a home at a pace that suits their financial situation. They can start with a small share and buy additional shares whenever they can afford to do so, until they own their home 100%. Unlike Help to Buy, there is no loan involved, nor the associated worry of future interest repayments.” 

Heylo is currently partnering with over 90 housebuilders to offer Home Reach. 6,000 homes have been bought using Home Reach since 2014; the scheme is currently available on over 270 developments in England.