Shared Ownership homes: New build

When deciding to purchase through the Shared Ownership scheme, one of the decisions you’ll have to make is the type of home you’d like to buy – whether that be new build or resale.

New build homes are purpose-built properties that are usually part of a larger development or area regeneration. Alternatively, resale properties are homes that a current owner bought through Shared Ownership and now wishes to sell on.

Buying

A big positive of buying a purpose-built home on a new development is that you won’t be part of a moving chain that could threaten your completion date. There also won’t be any personal issues with an owner as you’ll be dealing directly with the housing provider! However, if there are any delays in completing the building work on a property bought off-plan, this can affect your move-in date.

In order to purchase a new build home, you would need to attend a financial interview where a calculator from the HCA will be used to work out the share you should be buying; this may be more than the share that the property was originally advertised at.

Costs

The asking price of new build homes are usually higher than those of resale properties as they tend to benefit from a lot more features and mod cons. The rent on a new build home is often more expensive too as this will be based on the percentage of the share you’re not purchasing; the service charge and ground rent on a new home also tends to be higher than those of older properties.

However, new build homes also benefit from warranties which can save money if anything goes wrong in your property further down the line. These homes are also usually much more energy efficient which can save you money on unexpected heating bills, especially during the colder months.

Style

Most new build homes are modern and come fitted with high-specification appliances and materials. New homes must also comply with the latest building regulations, ensuring that they include the most up to date heating systems and insulation. This is often preferred by first time buyers who are keen to settle into their new home straight away, rather than worrying about additional maintenance costs.

New homes also offer a clean slate for buyers who want to put their own personal stamp on the home, however, new builds often need time to ‘breathe’ and you may be advised not to hang pictures or paint the walls for a certain period of time after you move in.

Community

Moving into a previously established neighbourhood may not appeal to all buyers. When moving into a home on a completely new development, you’ll have the opportunity to integrate and make friends as part of a brand new community. Plus, you’ll likely come across a number of other first time buyers who can share the experience with you!

Staircasing

As and when your financial circumstances change, you can choose to buy more shares in your new build home through a process known as Staircasing; this is completely optional and you do not have to buy more shares if you don’t want to. As you purchase more shares in your home, your mortgage payments will increase and your rent will decrease.

While you’ll need to check the terms of your lease for any potential restrictions to the process, you are generally able to staircase to 100% of your home, in which case you become the outright owner of the property.

Interested in purchasing a Shared Ownership home? Find a property in your area today by using the relevant filters on our search tool to narrow down your search based on new build and resale homes, locations, deposit amounts and scheme.