Shared Ownership is an affordable home ownership scheme which makes it easier for eligible purchasers to get on the property ladder. Buyers get a mortgage for the share they can afford, and pay rent on the remaining share.
No – this is a common misconception but the ‘shared’ aspect of the scheme simply means you’re sharing ownership of your home with a housing association.
If you decide to buy a Shared Ownership home in St Albans, you’re effectively purchasing a portion of your property. Your initial share will usually be between 25% to 75%, paying a mortgage on the part that you own and a below market value rent on the remaining share.
Yes – Shared Owners can choose to buy additional shares in their property by ‘staircasing’.
When buying a Shared Ownership home, you will initially purchase a minimum percentage somewhere between 25% to 75%. Down the line, if you find that your financial circumstances have changed, buyers will have the option to buy more shares.
If you choose to buy a higher percentage, your mortgage repayments will increase while the rent you pay will decrease. In the majority of cases there aren’t any restrictions and you can buy 100% of your home – in this instance, you would become the outright owner.
As a home-buying product aimed at helping those who can’t afford to purchase a property on the open market, there are certain requirements that buyers will need to meet to be considered eligible for Shared Ownership.
For example, there are caps on household income which means that you must earn less than £80,000 to be eligible for the scheme – or less than £90,000 if you would like to buy a home in London. The criteria also states that buyers must be at least 18 years of age and do not own another property either in the UK or abroad.
Shared Ownership properties enable you to put down a smaller deposit compared to those required on the open market – buyers will usually need to put down 5% to 10% of the share that they’re buying, rather than the full market value of the home.
On a monthly basis, buyers will be required to pay their mortgage, a subsidised rent and service charge on their home, however, these repayments often work out cheaper than or equal to renting privately in the same area. Other costs to consider when buying a home include solicitor and mortgage broker fees – you can find out more about these costs on Share to Buy.
Share to Buy lists thousands of Shared Ownership homes all across St Albans and beyond – including new build properties and those available through resale.
Shared Ownership is available on a variety of homes including cosy studios, stylish apartments and traditional family homes. Check out our property search tool to start looking for your new home today!
The major providers of Shared Ownership, Help to Buy and other affordable ways to buy a home in St Albans and nationwide have their homes listed on Share to Buy.
Share to Buy is the leading online portal for Shared Ownership properties. Established in 2004 as the UK’s first specialist online mortgage broker for affordable home ownership products, the site has since developed into a one stop shop for first time buyers, offering the country’s largest listing of Shared Ownership homes from many of the UK’s biggest housing providers.
Share to Buy is the nation’s biggest and best established affordable home ownership property portal, making it the ideal website for first time buyers looking to take that first step onto the property ladder.
Using our property search tool, you can search for homes that suit your needs via filters such as location, number of bedrooms, monthly outgoings and deposit amount. You can also set up alert preferences so you’ll be notified when new properties that meet your search are announced by email.
Acting as a one stop shop for first time buyers, Share to Buy also offers handy FAQs and guides, interactive mortgage tools, mortgage broker and conveyancing panels, and live events to help potential purchasers on their home-buying journey.
If you are a housing association or developer selling properties through Shared Ownership, Help to Buy and other affordable home ownership schemes, we can list your new build and resale homes on the Share to Buy property portal.
As well as working alongside Registered Providers, we also partner with private sellers who are looking to sell their current Shared Ownership home.
Find out more about advertising your Shared Ownership property on Share to Buy.
“The landlord at our old place kept threatening to sell up and leave us in the lurch, which produced a lot of anxiety. Now we’ve got a stake in something, we aren’t at the mercy of someone else - we wouldn’t have that freedom if we stuck in renting or bought somewhere outright. Shared Ownership has been a perfect solution.”
“I think with home ownership, it is easy to become disheartened but once you seek advice and look at all the options, it’s not as daunting or as stressful as it can be portrayed. I bought my Shared Ownership home with just a £6,000 deposit and now my monthly payments including bills is just £1,060, which I never thought would be possible!”
“A friend at work had just signed up on the Share to Buy website and said I should register too. I didn’t know much about Shared Ownership so the Share to Buy website was really helpful, giving me all the information that I needed about the scheme. It turned out that there were a few properties in my area, so I registered for all of them!”
Shared Ownership homes in St Albans are a great way for first-time buyers to take the first step up the property ladder. Similarly, Help to Buy homes in St Albans can make it easier for buyers to achieve their home ownership ambitions in such a great location.
To stay on top of Shared Ownership and Help to Buy homes in St Albans, Simply sign up to Share to Buy and register to receive alerts so we can send you automatic notifications when new properties are added in your desired area.
St Albans is a commuter belt city that truly offers the best of both worlds. Just a short journey away from London St Pancras and West Hampstead, as well as being close to the M1 and M25, it boasts excellent road and rail links. This makes it the ideal place for commuters who need to work in the capital but who want to live in a more laid-back and family-friendly setting.
It’s true that St Albans feels a world away from the hustle and bustle of the big smoke. Its quaint atmosphere and rich heritage are exemplified in its centuries-old cathedral, alongside other historical attractions. These include the remains of an ancient Roman wall, a Roman theatre and the fascinating artefacts on display at the Verulamium Museum.
Verulamium Park offers scenic greenery and ornamental lakes, while its vibrant entertainment scene and wealth of activities means there is always something new to try. And that’s not even mentioning the spectacular range of drinking and dining options in the city either.
Life in St Albans really does have everything you could possibly ask for. From its community to its culture, its convenient location and even its educational facilities, which are amongst some of the best in the entire country, St Albans is a unique cathedral city that certainly has residents singing its praises.
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