Buying more shares in your home
As a shared owner you may have the right to buy more shares in your home – this is known as ‘staircasing’.
The amount of shares you’re able to buy is determined by your lease. Most leases allow you to buy shares until you own 100% of your home (usually with a mortgage). In some cases, however, a lease may have a restriction so that, for example, you can only buy up to 80% of your home.
If you decide to buy more shares, we’ll need to carry out a valuation of your home. You will be responsible for the cost of the valuation as well as your own legal fees (as well as any fees associated with extending your mortgage, such as paying for an independent financial advisor). The shares should be bought within three months of the valuation date, otherwise a new valuation will be needed.
Get in touch
Read our process guide below for more details on buying and selling your home, or contact our Commercial Transaction Team on 01925 592610, or email [email protected]
You can sell your property at any time but it’s also a requirement that you inform us. We can offer support and guide you through the steps and paperwork.
You can either sell your share in the property – for example if you own 50% then that’s the share you’ll sell – or you could sell 100%. If you want to sell all of the property (100%) rather than the percentage you own, you’ll need to buy the remaining equity from us, and then sell 100% to your buyer. This is known as back-to-back staircasing.
Before you choose an estate agent to market your home, please contact the Commercial Transaction Team on 01925 592610. They’ll check your lease and confirm the options available to you. If you decide to go ahead with the sale, remember there are always fees when selling a home including:
- Valuation costs
- Our administration fees
- Mortgage redemption fees
- Any fees for retrospective consent to improvements or changes
- Your solicitor fees
- Estate agency fees
- EPC surveyors fees
- Any rent arrears, recoverable debts and registered charges.
If you decide to remortgage your home or apply for a secured loan, you must ask us for formal approval before these loans can be completed. This is a requirement of your lease and our Commercial Transaction Team can discuss your loan with you.
We’ll need to know:
- Details of the loan – this is because with shared ownership, we have a financial stake in your property. We’ll need to see your mortgage offer to make sure the loan doesn’t exceed the equity you own.
- You’re using a responsible lender – we’ll need the lender’s details to check they’re listed in the HCA (Homes and Community Agency) approved lenders list.