Buying a home – how it works
In broad terms, you’re going to be making a very significant purchase, so there are financial & legal processes to go through. Our advice is to treat it a bit like a work project, with you playing your part, along with ourselves, in making things go as smoothly as possible.
So, once you’ve contacted us about a property you’re interested in, the key steps are as follows:
1Register your details
This helps us get an idea of your profile and quickly assess your eligibility for shared ownership.
2Financial assessment
If you’re eligible, we will put you in touch with a financial advisor for a quick, headline affordability assessment.
3View the property
Assuming all is fine with this, you can then either view the property (if it’s already built) or (if it isn’t) confirm that you’d like to reserve it ‘off-plan’.
4Mortgage assessment
If you’d like to go ahead, we will then ‘hold’ the plot for you while you carry out an in-depth mortgage assessment for that property with the financial advisor.
5Deposit
Once the financial advisor confirms you can proceed, you pay us a reservation/admin deposit, appoint a solicitor and we then send out an official confirmation of the sale to all parties.
6Fees
Your solicitor will give you a quote as to your legal fees/costs and you pay some of this up front, for them to carry out some ‘searches’ etc. You also pay the mortgage lender a fee to arrange for a valuation of the property and the financial advisor a fee for their service in arranging the mortgage.
7Mortgage offer
It takes a few weeks for the formal mortgage ‘offer’ to come through from your lender and another few weeks while your solicitor makes legal enquiries on your behalf regarding the property and the development.
8Exchanging contracts
Once the mortgage offer is received and your solicitor is satisfied that all is in order legally, we can then ‘exchange contracts’ and agree a date to complete the transaction.
9The big day
On ‘legal completion’ day we will meet you at the property and hand you the keys to your home…. congratulations!
Please note that this is provided as a headline guide only and the order of events can sometimes change according to circumstances.
Also, while the fundamentals are the same, there are some minor differences to the above when buying a pre-owned shared ownership home.
The numbers
As an example:
| Full property value | Example 35% share price* | 5% deposit | Monthly mortgage** | Monthly fee | Total monthly mortgage & fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £350,000 | £122,500 | £6,125 | £642** | £521 | £1,163 |
The small print
* Shares available to purchase between 25%-75% of the full value.
**Based on a mortgage rate of 6.25%, and a term of 30 years.
Please note rates and criteria vary.
A management service charge will also be payable on most developments.
Legal and financial services
You are free to use a financial advisor and solicitor of your choice. However, below are the details of some companies that we know are very experienced in shared ownership and therefore can provide knowledgeable service when you purchase. To confirm, ISHA has no financial relationship with any of these companies.
Please note, while you can choose a financial advisor to actually arrange your mortgage, you must first be financially assessed by one of these recommended companies (we will let know which), so we can be sure you will be able to access finance and therefore move forward. This approach is based upon many years of experience in the industry, helping to makes things clear for both parties from the beginning and avoid potential disappointment further down the line.
Financial services
Censeo
Oriel House, 26 The Quadrant, Richmond, Surrey. TW9 1DL.
Phone 0207 090 7290, option 1
Email assessements@censeo-financial.com
TMP The Mortgage People
Head Office: Aspen House, 13 Medlicott Close, Corby, NN18 9NF.
Phone 0800 4880 814
Email chirpy@tmpmortgages.co.uk
Legal services
New Homes Law
London Office: Parkview House, Victoria Rd, Chelmsford, CM1 1BT
Phone: 0300 020 0009
Email sales@nhlaw.co.uk
Convey Law
London Office: Maxwell Chambers, 34 – 36 Stow Hill, Newport, NP20 1JE
Phone: 01633 261781
Email nbt@conveylaw.com