You’ve found your dream home which is available through Shared Ownership, what happens next?
The buying processes and requirements for Shared Ownership are a little different to when you buy a house outright with a conventional mortgage. So, we’ve put together this buying process guide for you, which explains everything you need to know.
There are three key points of eligibility criteria that you need to pass before looking to buy a Shared Ownership home:
You can use our online checker to find out if you may be eligible – plumlife.co.uk/eligibility-checker/
Once you’ve found a development you’re interested in, make sure you register your interest so that we can contact you when we are ready to release the homes for sale. You can do this through our website or by calling the team on 0161 447 5050.
Sometimes, there can be very high demand for only a small number of homes. To make the process of securing a home as fair as possible, when we release a new development for sale (or ‘launch’), all customers who have registered on the mailing list are contacted at the same time via an e-shot. This email provides details of how to book an appointment with a sales advisor, and what you need to do to give yourself the best chance of reserving your preferred plot.
Anyone calling to book an appointment is treated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis, i.e. the first person who calls to book an appointment will have the opportunity to book the earliest appointment on the launch day. Please see our Sales Application Policy for more information.
We have separate mailing lists for each development, so if you’re interested in more than one, make sure you register for each.
As with any mortgage or loan, you need to be able to go through an affordability assessment to prove you can make the repayments. If you have a property in mind and want to quickly check what the monthly payments might look like, why not check out our affordability calculator?
Once you are ready to progress, you would need to speak to the financial advisor we work alongside, Metro Finance. Metro will confirm your affordability and will also be able to help you secure a mortgage in principle. You can contact Metro Finance on 0114 270 1444 for your assessment, or you can input your details online at www.metrofinancelive.co.uk to start the process.
Part of Metro’s assessment will involve completing a budget planner with you, including factoring in a monthly minimum income surplus – essentially this means making sure you have a percentage of your income left over after factoring in all your monthly costs to help act as a buffer for any unexpected expenses or future increases in costs. For more information, please see our Sales Application Policy.
Although you would need to complete the assessment and sign-off with Metro Finance, you are welcome to use a different mortgage broker to arrange your mortgage if you prefer.
Once you’re ready to purchase your Shared Ownership property, you’ll need to provide documents that prove you’re in a position to buy a home and obtain a mortgage. Metro Finance, who carry out all our affordability checks, will also collect and check your supporting documents. The documents you need are listed below but please bear in mind this list may not be exhaustive, and additional documents may be required depending on individual circumstances:
This is one of the most exciting parts of the process because after this point, you’re very close to owning your own home!
Once all information has been supplied and we are satisfied that all eligibility criteria have been met, you’ll need to pay a reservation fee to take the home off the market. Once we’ve received your fee your sales advisor will take you through the next steps of the sale and provide you with the reservation paperwork.
Once you’ve reserved, you’d then need to appoint a solicitor to act on your behalf. They will handle the conveyance for you (transferring the title to you legally), explain the terms of your lease and deal with the seller’s solicitor on your behalf. There will be a cost to this, which will be clarified by your chosen solicitor, so please bear this in mind when budgeting for your new home. We do suggest using a solicitor that specialises in Shared Ownership and therefore understands the nuances around it.
Our sales team will then issue a Memorandum of Sale (MOS) to all solicitors involved in the transaction. This summarises the details of your proposed house purchase and allows our solicitor to send the draft documents to your solicitor so they can start the conveyancing process.
You will also need to submit your full mortgage application to your chosen lender at this point.
It usually takes 6 weeks subject to legal checks and enquiries, and mortgage arrangements being in place, to be in a position to exchange contracts. You’ll be expected to pay 5% deposit at this stage and the whole transaction becomes legally binding. At this point, you know the home is going to be yours!
On completion day, at your solicitor’s request, your mortgage lender will release the funds to pay for your home. You will also need to pay any further deposit you will be putting towards the purchase price to your solicitor. The final balance of funds will then be passed onto your seller’s solicitor. Once this has happened, you officially become the homeowner of the property.
Your Plumlife Homes Sales Advisor will meet you at your new home to handover the keys, and answer any questions you may have about your new home.
We will arrange a home demo and provides you with the below:
