Shared Ownership
Shared ownership is where you part buy your home and pay rent on the share you don’t own. You can normally buy a share in your home between 25% and 75% of the homes value. You can buy a shared ownership home by taking out a mortgage and using your savings on the share you buy and then pay rent on the percentage of the property you do not own. The more of the property you own the less rent you will pay. You can also purchase additional shares in your property – known as “staircasing”. This will mean that you will the pay less rent.
For more information on how shared ownership works please visit gov.uk
Older People Shared Ownership
Shared ownership maybe available for people aged over 55 who are looking to downsize or want to have specialist support as they get older. As with normal shared ownership you can normally buy a share between 25% and 75% of the property value and pay rent on the remaining share. If you purchase a 75% share you may not need to pay rent on the remaining share. The maximum share you can normally purchase is up to 75% to ensure such properties remain available to older people in the future.
Rent to Buy
Rent to Buy is a Government scheme where you can rent a new build property for a set period and then have the option of either buying the property outright after five years. You can alternatively buy the property through shared ownership before the five period has ended as long as you meet the eligibility criteria for shared ownership. If you don’t purchase the property it may be possible remain in the property to rent after the five years.
The options available to you will be discussed with your landlord. Under Rent to Buy properties are let out at discounted rent with the aim of assisting you to save for a deposit.
Current affordable home ownership developments
Current developments where there are affordable home ownership opportunities available in the borough are:
There are a number of registered providers, commonly known as housing associations, who provide shared ownership and rent to buy homes in Knowsley. Please visit the links below to check availability:
Properties are sometimes advertised on the Help to Buy website. It is also worth visiting the website to find out more information on affordable home ownership options that maybe available to you.