How Shared Ownership Works

Just register your details with us at guinnesshomes.co.uk/apply to apply online today. We recommend speaking to a member of the sales team associated with the development you’re interested in before applying for a new home. The sales team can explain the specifics on a case-by-case basis and assist you with your application. You can contact a sales team member by making an enquiry or requesting a viewing (if this option is available at your chosen development) prior to submitting an application.

No, you do not share the property or have to live with another person. It means you own a portion of the property and pay rent on the part you don’t hold to us.

Buying a house with friends, a spouse, or a partner is known as joint ownership.

There is no age limit for buying a home using Shared Ownership as long as you are over 18 years of age. There is no upper age limit that applies.

First-time buyers under Shared Ownership schemes can now claim First-Time Buyers Stamp Duty relief on homes worth up to £500,000. This means that you will not have to pay any Stamp Duty if you are a first-time buyer and you could save up to £15,000.

If the property you are buying is worth over £500,000, or if you have previously owned a home, you will pay the standard rates of Stamp Duty and will not qualify for first-time buyer’s relief. Your solicitor will be able to give you more advice on the best way to pay it depending on your circumstances.

Further guidance on Stamp Duty can be found on the Government website: www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax/shared-ownership-property

If you will be liable to pay Stamp Duty, then you can calculate how much it will be here: www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro 

We ask you to send us some financial information when you apply for Shared Ownership. Our team will assess whether you can afford to buy and sustain a home.

We aim to let you know you have been approved to apply to reserve a property within 5 working days of you notifying us of your interest by completing an application form.

Once you have applied and been approved, you will send us your reservation form, deposit and documentation.

The process usually takes an average of 6-8 weeks from this point. This depends on whether the home is ready and whether the legal formalities have been completed.

The volume of applications, the rate at which the development is built, the weather can also affect the pace at which the development is built.

Sometimes, the legal process can take additional time to ensure the formalities are all complete.

If there are more applications than there are properties, a priority order comes into play to ensure that best use is made of the available homes.

No, it does not matter if the deposit is gifted.

Money can be gifted by family or friends towards your purchase.

Your mortgage lender will require this to be a gift rather than a loan.

If you can obtain a mortgage, you will be encouraged to do so as this will enable you to buy a larger share at the outset.
You can contact one of our panel of mortgage brokers to obtain a Mortgage in Principle.

You need to be able to buy at least the minimum share at the outset.  We’ll let you know what the minimum share is that you can purchase.

You can contact one of our panel of mortgage brokers to obtain a Mortgage in Principle.

This depends on the full market value of the property and the size of the share you are purchasing, your mortgage lender and your credit rating.

The benefit of shared ownership is that the deposit required will be significantly lower than if you were purchasing the property outright because you only need a deposit on the share you are buying.

You should expect to have at least 5% deposit saved.

Your mortgage advisor will tell you the exact amount of deposit you need.

You can contact one of our panel of mortgage brokers to get a Mortgage in Principle.

If you are unable to obtain a mortgage, you can speak to us about purchasing your share with your savings.

You are free to purchase a home with no restrictions on the number of bedrooms determined by the household size.

You may be able to keep a pet in your home, but you must ask us first.

In most circumstances, you are not able to keep a cat or a dog if you share an entrance door/ hallway with other people.

Your lease often restricts the ownership of livestock (including chickens), and you should consider the impact having pets may have on neighbouring properties.

We will keep this website updated with all the properties as they become available. You can also save your property search to be notified by email of new properties that are added to the website.

Take a look at our new build homes or resales.

The charge covers your Buildings Insurance premium and those areas not owned by you or the council. The service charged is by Guinness Homes or the housing association.

We are not usually able to consider applications from customers who are unable to purchase the minimum share.

Yes, as long as you can afford the monthly repayments required as assessed by us.

Yes, if you buy more than the minimum share, the monthly rental payment falls accordingly.

Yes, the rent paid to us on the share not owned by you will be reviewed periodically, usually every year, and will be increased in line with any proportionate increase in the Retail Prices Index plus an amount, typically between 0.5% and 2%.

These rent rises will be explained to you by your solicitor.

No, however, we recommend you contact one of our panel of brokers for help to make an application to a lender.

A Mortgage in Principle (sometimes called an Agreement in Principle) is confirmation from a lender that they would be willing to consider you for a certain amount.

You can contact one of our panel of mortgage brokers to obtain a Mortgage in Principle.

Yes. We ask that you have a buyer waiting to purchase your existing home as this will need to be sold at the same time as you using Shared Ownership.

We do not currently have any plans to offer a rent to buy scheme.

If you have an unsatisfied County Court Judgement (CCJ) in your name, we are not able to offer you a Shared Ownership home. 

If your judgement has been satisfied (paid back) and you can provide a Certificate of Satisfaction from the court. We can consider your application for Shared Ownership.

You can search online to see if there is a County Court Judgement in your name.

If you are purchasing a brand new property from us, then we'll arrange a viewing when the property is complete, and it is safe to enter.

We sell some of our new homes "off-plan" as the homes are not ready to view at the time a reservation is being made. Ask your Sales Consultant if there is a show home or a view home available.

Yes, you can buy additional shares either at the outset of your initial purchase or at a later date. The cost of the additional shares is based on the market value of the property at the time that you purchase the shares.

If you increase your share in the property, your rent is re-calculated and reduced proportionately. Usually, you will be able to buy further shares as and when you can afford to. That could either be at the beginning or after you’ve moved in.

Visit our main website to find out more information.

Help to Buy is no longer available.

Help to Buy was a scheme in the UK to help people get on the property ladder by making it easier to secure a mortgage.