Did you know that if you live in one of our shared ownership homes, you can choose to buy more shares in your home? This is called staircasing.

With our shared ownership homes, you only pay rent on the share that you don’t own, so the more shares you buy, the less rent you pay.

Here’s a quick guide on what you need to do:

• Contact us and we’ll send you our staircasing guide that contains lots of helpful information and a short form to fill in
• Arrange for your home to be valued - this must be done by a RICS qualified surveyor
• Speak to a financial advisor – they’ll discuss your options. Shared ownership mortgages have extra requirements that are different to open-market mortgages, so it’s important you use a financial advisor with the right experience
• Mortgage lender - if you’re increasing your mortgage to buy more shares, you’ll need to contact your lender to organise the extra amount
• Speak to a solicitor – increasing your shares will mean changes to your lease, so you need to involve a solicitor. Shared ownership sales have extra requirements that are different to open-market sales, so it’s important you use a solicitor with the right experience.

What costs are involved?

When you buy more shares, you’ll have to pay:

• Valuation fees
• Legal fees
• Mortgage arrangement fees
• Stamp duty (if applicable)

There may be other costs from your mortgage lender. And you must carry on paying your rent while going through the staircasing process.

Sound interesting?

Contact us and we’ll send you our staircasing guide.

To view some of the new shared ownership homes available, visit our sales website.