Yes! Shared Ownership is very popular in London, especially amongst first time buyers who would otherwise struggle to raise the steep deposits required for homes on the open market.

Acting as a stepping stone, the part-buy part-rent scheme makes getting on the property ladder more accessible for eligible buyers by offering a variety of homes – houses and apartments, new builds and resales – in popular locations across the capital, but at a price that’s more affordable.

Shared Ownership is a home-buying scheme which aims to assist those who can’t afford to buy a property on the private market. Because of this, buyers will need to meet certain eligibility criteria to be able to purchase a part-buy part-rent home.

For those in London, there are maximum caps on income which means that your household must earn less than £90,000. The requirements also outline that purchasers can’t own any other properties and must be a minimum of 18 years old.

Share to Buy are the leading property portal for first time buyer homes in London! If you’re interested in purchasing a Shared Ownership home in the capital, visit our property search tool to view hundreds of homes; you can even use filters to tailor your search to suit your needs including location, bedroom numbers, deposit amount and monthly repayments.

The biggest expenditure when buying a property is usually the deposit, but this is reduced when purchasing a part-buy part-rent home. With Shared Ownership, the buyer will need to raise a deposit of around 5-10% of the share that they’re purchasing, not on the full value of the property.

The Shared Owner will then pay back their mortgage, a below-market-value rent and any service charge on a monthly basis. Aside from this, we would usually recommend a purchaser has around £3,000 to £5,000 saved for other moving fees – you can find out more about these potential costs on Share to Buy.

Yes, Shared Owners are able to buy more shares in their Shared Ownership home through the ‘staircasing’ process.

When initially purchasing a part-buy part-rent home, the buyer will purchase a minimum share of 25-75% of the property. However, the owner can choose to buy more shares in their home and, in most instances, can actually buy 100% of the property. If this happen, they will become the outright owner and won’t need to pay any more rent.

Applying for a Shared Ownership home on Share to Buy is easy! Search for a home on our property search tool and once you’ve found an apartment or house that you’re interested in, simply click the ‘register your interest’ button on the listing and your information will be forwarded to the relevant housing provider who can make contact with you from there.