London Home Show Sponsors: Meet Square Roots

The team at Square Roots take an in-depth look at Shared Ownership

Launched in 2021, Square Roots is a housing provider with a mission to offer hope to aspiring home-seekers in the current housing market.

Although we’re an independent company, we are backed by the premium developer London Square, whose award-winning standards and skills we have adopted. This includes their expertise in placemaking; developing homes that can transform locations, communities and people’s lives. It may sound a little grandiose, but we believe it’s do-able.

Square Roots specialises in the Greater London area, a region we know well. We understand the unique challenges of buying and believe that Shared Ownership buyers deserve the same as other buyers.

We build homes to high standards with enough space for you and your lifestyle, in a location you would want to live in. At Square Roots, we believe no one should have to make a sacrifice – a sacrifice for space, location, quality and liveability – in order to get on the London housing ladder.

Check out the fly-through of our newly completed show home at Square Roots Kingston:

What does Shared Ownership mean to us?

Designed as an alternative way to buy your new home, using Shared Ownership means that you can get on the property ladder sooner. You can buy a share of the apartment with a smaller mortgage and deposit meaning less saving. On the new Shared Ownership model, you can now buy anywhere between 10% – 75% of the property at the initial stage of purchasing. Previously this was 25% – 75%. You still pay some rent on the remaining share you haven’t purchased, but you live in your home as your own.

The quickest way to see the benefits is to look at the comparison between renting on the open market and buying through Shared Ownership.

Based on apartments at Square Roots Kingston vs renting in Kingston:

Square Roots Kingston

Unit	Shared Ownership Mortgage, Rent & Service Charge
1 bedroom	£1,397
2 bedroom	£1,846
3 bedroom	£2,138

Renting in Kingston

Unit	Average Market Rent per month
1 bedroom	£1,546
2 bedroom	£1,850
3 bedroom	£2,420

Shared Ownership 101

• Q – Can I ever own 100% of the property?
• A – Yes most Shared Ownership providers allow this – this is known as ‘staircasing’. Check out our useful guide to staircasing on our website.

• Q – Does my rent pay off the share I don’t own?
• A – The monthly rent you pay doesn’t contribute to increasing the share you own. This money is paid on the remainder of the share that you don’t own, the rent is subsidised compared to the open market and you still have the benefits of being a homeowner.

• Q – What happens when I want to sell the property?
• A – You can sell a Shared Ownership property as normal. Initially you will need to try and sell through the housing provider, but if they can’t find a buyer within four weeks you can chose to sell on the open market, with you receiving the share price.

• Q – If I’m self-employed, can I apply for Shared Ownership?
• A – There is no reason that it should be any more difficult than if you’re employed, but you do need your paperwork. It’s best to speak to a mortgage advisor so you know what will be required.

• Q – Can I decorate my home if I buy through Shared Ownership?
• A – You can decorate your home as you wish! Your new home is blank canvas for you to decorate as you please. We encourage you to put your own stamp on your home.

Square Roots | www.squareroots.co.uk

Attend the London Home Show

Tickets for the London Home Show are free, but visitors must register in advance to attend. For more information, or to reserve your place at the capital’s no.1 first time buyer event, please visit the Eventbrite page.

Share to Buy is a one stop shop for affordable homes. On our website, you can search for properties, compare mortgages and find out all you need to know about alternative home buying schemes such as Shared Ownership and Help to Buy via our FAQs and guides.