Search Properties

Maximum deposit search - search by the maximum deposit you can put down

With this functionality, you can search for properties according to the amount of deposit you have available. If you can only put down £10,000, you enter £10,000 as your maximum deposit and the system will show all the properties where that would cover the minimum required deposit.

All properties first appear showing the minimum deposit required to obtain a mortgage for that property, but you can vary this figure and press the UPDATE button to see how it would affect the potential monthly payments. If you cannot put down the minimum deposit, or have no deposit, there may be 'rent to homebuy' properties available in your area where you can rent a property you want to buy until you have saved a deposit.

Budget search - helping you search by monthly cost

We try to show you the likely monthly cost for each property. We do this by providing an 'estimated total monthly cost' figure that is the rent, service charge and estimated mortgage added together. So, if you would not want to spend more than £1,000 per month on those items then enter this figure into the budget search box and it will only bring up properties where the budget is unlikely to be above £1,000pm. Just bear in mind the following points:

The mortgage estimate is based on the lowest rate available for your given deposit and is not confirmation that you could apply for that mortgage or that it would be the best deal for you.
The Budget Calculator initially shows the minimum deposit and minimum initial share for each property, but you can vary both the deposit and share (where possible) and press the UPDATE button to see how this will affect your monthly budget. For example, a larger deposit will reduce the mortgage, whereas increasing your share will reduce the rent.

shared ownership mortgages

Help - getting started with our shared ownership property website

Share to buy ltd have created this website to help people looking for homes for sale and rent under an affordable housing scheme. Each shared ownership property comes with a unique 'Budget calculator' tool showing the minimum deposit you require and the monthly costs. You can even vary the deposit as well as the size of the share and then press ‘UPDATE’ to see how this might affect your total monthly payments.

Common questions if you are starting out

If you are just starting your research into affordable housing we hope that the following information might help you get underway.

What is shared ownership?
Am I eligible?
What properties can I buy?
What deposit do I need?

What is shared ownership?

Shared ownership is a Government-backed affordable housing scheme formally called 'new build homebuy' but often referred to as 'part buy / part rent' because of the way it works. You can:

Buy a share in a property, usually in the range from 25% to 75%
Pay below-market rent on the remaining share owned by a housing association

Although your maximum share can sometimes be capped, with most schemes you can 'staircase' to full ownership in future (i.e. buy more shares in the property up to 100% ownership). All the properties at sharetobuy.com are available to purchase and rent under the main affordable housing/homebuy schemes, including both shared ownership and shared equity.

Am I eligible?

Eligibility rules vary for different affordable housing schemes. We suggest that you browse the shared ownership properties on our website and if there is a one you like, you can email the housing association or other provider offering that property and they should be able to confirm whether you are eligible. If there are no properties that fit your search, or you are not happy with the results shown, you can click on the 'who do I contact' button on the right hand side of your search results and this will explain how to progress your enquiry.

What properties can I buy?

Only certain types of property are available for purchase via a shared ownership scheme - unfortunately there are no longer any 'open market' schemes where you can buy a share in any property on the open market. The current availability of shared ownership properties consists of:

New build flats and houses sold by housing associations or shared equity developers
Second hand flats and houses already purchased under a shared ownership scheme, where the existing owner wants to sell their share (known as a 'resale').

You can find both new build shared ownership properties and second hand 'resales' at sharetobuy.com.

What deposit do I need?

You generally need a deposit for a shared ownership property purchase. Each shared ownership property on sharetobuy.com has a special 'Budget tool' which confirms the minimum deposit you will need to purchase a share in that property. You can vary the deposit and press UPDATE to see how this affects your potential monthly payments, and you can also search for properties by the maximum deposit available to you.

YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.

Share to buy Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

FSA register number 306800. You can find more detail on our status in our Initial Disclosure Document [109k] and Terms of Business. For further information, contact us or write to: Share to buy, PO Box 37188, London E4 7WY. Registered in England and Wales no: 04909788.

How does it work?

Who do I contact?