About Us
Introducing share to buy
Our Technical Director, Stephen Dwelley, who is an IFA with over twenty years experience in the financial services sector.
Share to buy specialises in arranging mortgages for the growing number of people up and down Britain sharing their first or next step on the property ladder. We are not tied to any other companies; we search the whole of the market to find you the best deal and we don't charge any fees. Our speciality is shared mortgages with friends, shared mortgages with family members or housing associations (i.e. part buy / part rent), but we can also arrange standard mortgages for single and joint applicants, as well as remortgages and buy to let.
In all cases, no broker's fees are charged and instead we get paid commission by the lender but this does not affect the product choice available to you. Our name – share to buy – has become a term of general usage for sharing a mortgage to buy a property, and we are proud of our reputation for good customer service as confirmed in our real life case studies up and down the UK.
History
Share to buy was set up in July 2004 to find a new way of approaching the problems facing first time buyers. We launched with our exclusive mortgage via Britannia taking not just 1 or 2 but up to four joint incomes into account, enabling flatmates to become joint homeowners. We also provided a free legal agreement covering the key issues of friends buying together.
Since then, we have gone from strength to strength and developed into a real force for first time buyers, specialising in all types of shared mortgages. Our staff have now built up considerable experience in the shared domain so whether you are looking to buy a share in a housing association property, or want to club together with three mates to buy a large house, we would be delighted to put our expertise to the test on your behalf.
Key points about our company
- We are based in North London but in order to ensure that share to buy is available across the UK we operate primarily over the internet and telephone (face to face meetings are possible in the London area where necessary).
- Operating as we do also keeps our costs down and ensures that we do not charge a fee for any of our mortgage or insurance services.
- We are entirely privately owned and not 'tied' to any other organization or required to offer the products of a particular company.
- We source mortgages from right across the market but we also have exclusive deals not available anywhere else such as a mortgage for up to four applicants provided in conjunction with Britannia.
Our partners
Whilst share to buy is entirely privately owned and not 'tied' to any other company, we have important partnerships with established players in the markets where we operate. These include:
Britannia
We are an affinity partner of Britannia, a trading name of the Co-operative Bank plc. Britannia provides an exclusive mortgage to Share to buy that is not available anywhere else, even in their branches: a mortgage with no up-front fees, but most importantly, with no early repayment charges so you are never tied in. Britannia have a proven track record of high quality customer service and a social awareness that has enabled them to look sympathetically on the problems faced by first time buyers. Read Britannia's website for more information on our partnership.
Housing association partnerships
Share to buy values its partnerships with housing associations. As a company offering specialist shared ownership mortgage broking with no fees, we believe that we can offer an attractive choice for RSLs' prospective sales customers – alongside existing options. We are also able to provide housing associations with bespoke services such as the online affordability calculator we have designed for Thames Valley housing association. Current housing association partners include:
Thames Valley Housing Association
Thames Valley Housing was set up in 1966. Since it finished its first building project in 1968 the number of properties owned and managed has steadily increased. It became Thames Valley Housing Association in 1991 and now manages over 5,000 rented properties and 4,000 shared ownership properties in London and the Thames Valley basin. Share to buy have developed an online affordability calculator in conjunction with Thames Valley. Click here for the main Thames Valley website.
Notting Hill Housing Trust
Notting Hill Housing was founded in 1963 and is one of the UK's largest providers of affordable housing, employing approximately 750 staff. Notting Hill manage 19,000 homes, housing nearly 50,000 people across London and the surrounding areas. Click here for more information: www.nottinghillhousing.org.uk
