Shared Ownership resales are homes that a current owner, who bought through Guinness Homes, sells. This option lets you buy at least the same share of the home that the seller owns.
What is Shared Ownership?
Shared ownership is an affordable housing option where you buy a portion (usually between 25% and 75%) of a property and pay rent on the remaining share. This arrangement is typically managed by housing associations or other providers and helps people get onto the property ladder with a smaller upfront investment.
Example
Imagine you find a resale where the seller has a 40% share in a £200,000 property.
- The minimum share you can buy in this instance is the share the existing leaseholder is selling — in this example, a 40% share for £80,000.
- You can discuss with the mortgage broker who is carrying out your affordability assessment if you can afford to buy a larger share, and if possible, this is something we can discuss with you.
- You’d pay rent to us on the part you don’t own (60% here).
How Buying a Resale Works
Buying a resale works like buying any Shared Ownership property. You can slowly buy more shares until you fully own your home if your finances and lease allow it. This is a process called “staircasing.”
However, since these sales come from existing leaseholders wanting to sell their shares, what’s available will vary based on what people decide to sell.
Note: Some Shared Ownership leases do not enable you to staircase up to 100%.
This may apply to homes in rural areas where affordable housing must be maintained for future buyers. The lease will confirm whether you can staircase up to 100% of the home you are buying.
Resale Shared Ownership Process
When a homeowner wants to move on, they can sell their share of the property.
The resale process generally involves the following steps:
1. Valuation
The property is valued to determine its current market worth by a RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) surveyor.
2. Finding a New Buyer
Once we receive notification from the current owner and the necessary information (including details about the nomination period), we will advertise the property through:
- 99homes
- The Guinness Homes website
- Other online property portals
3. Selling the Share
The homeowner sells their share.
The new buyer can either become a shared owner or, if they can afford it, purchase the entire property, depending on the provisions listed in the Lease.
Important Points
- The resale process is guided by specific rules outlined in your Shared Ownership Lease (this may be the preferred term to “agreement”).
- The price is based on the current market value, with some restrictions to keep future homes affordable.
- Resale Shared Ownership is a good way to move on, but it’s important to follow the proper procedures to stay compliant with your agreement.
If you’re considering resale, we recommend consulting with Guinness Homes or a legal advisor for guidance tailored to your situation.
Buying More Shares (“Staircasing”)
You can buy additional shares in your home after you’ve become the owner. This is called “staircasing”, and it means you pay less rent as you increase your ownership.
- Usually, you can buy shares of 10% or more at any time.
- Some older leases only allow buying shares of 25% or more, while newer leases may permit shares of 5% or more.
How to Buy More Shares
Timing: You can typically buy additional shares at any time, but some homes may require waiting periods — check your lease.
Cost: The price depends on your home’s current value.
Valuation: You will need to obtain the RICS valuation from a RICS registered surveyor yourself.
Fees: See our charges.
Deadline: You must buy the additional shares within 3 months of the valuation date; otherwise, the property will need to be revalued.
Valuations & Home Improvements
If you’ve made improvements that affect your home’s value, the valuation will show both:
- Current Market Value: Including any increase due to improvements.
- Unimproved Value: The home’s value ignoring those improvements.
If you have your landlord’s written permission for the improvements, the price of additional shares will be based on the unimproved value. Without permission, the valuation will be based on the current market value, which might be higher.
Maximum Share You Can Own
Most leases set the maximum at 100%, but there are some exceptions:
- In designated protected areas, the maximum might be 80%.
- For Older Persons Shared Ownership (OPSO) homes, the maximum is 75%.
Legal Fees
- When purchasing a share, you’ll cover your own legal costs.
- If you’re borrowing money, you’ll need a solicitor to advise you.
- The landlord pays their own legal fees during staircasing.
How to Apply for a Resale Home
1. Start Your Application
Click ‘Apply Now’ on the webpage for applying for a Shared Ownership property.
Once completed, we will review the application and connect you with one of our panel mortgage brokers (unless you have your own).
They’ll help you with an affordability assessment and full broker sign-off, which is required.
2. Application Review
Our Resales team will review your application within 2 working days.
We operate on a first-come, first-served basis, so early applications have a better chance.
3. View the Property
If your application is approved and the property is within your budget, we’ll arrange a viewing.
4. Reservation & Final Steps
- Complete the Full Broker Sign-Off assessment with your broker.
- Provide proof of funding and ID (via our partner, 99Homes).
- Instruct a solicitor, ideally one experienced with Shared Ownership.
We have a panel of recommended solicitors you can choose from.
Shared Ownership Resales FAQ
Shared Ownership resales are properties previously purchased through a Shared Ownership scheme, now being sold by the current owner.
Your eligibility depends on several factors, including but not limited to: your yearly household income, outside of London, it must be below £80,000; in London, below £90,000, and your inability to afford a home on the open market.
We allocate our homes on a first-come, first-served basis to customers who are eligible and able to proceed. This means we will reserve a home for you once we have received your full mortgage broker sign-off, either from one of our panel mortgage brokers or your own chosen broker.
Cash purchasers are assessed based on individual circumstances and would still require full affordability assessment and sign off from our panel brokers or from you own broker, with primary focus on confirming the lack or unsuitability of a mortgage due to age, income, religious reasons, or adverse credit, provided you have sufficient savings. Please see our policy on cash buyer.
There are many costs associated with purchasing Shared Ownership properties but not limited to:
- Mortgage payments on the part you own, and rent on the percentage owned by the housing association
- A service charge which covers maintenance and repairs
- Additional fees may include legal costs and stamp duty (depending on house price and location).
Please note that these costs could vary based on location and other factors related to specific properties.
When you decide you wish to apply for the homes, you should complete our online application.
If you don’t provide your own mortgage broker, we will assign one of panel mortgage broker to assess affordability. A property can only be reserved in your name once full broker sign off received from them. We operate a “first come, first served” rule unless you qualify for priority status under policy.
These homes have had previous owners, and people have lived in them before. This differs from new builds, which are brand-new homes that nobody has lived in before they’re sold. The age of the homes you see here can vary quite a bit.
You will generally pay rent on the share you do not own, paid to Guinness Partnership Limited. There will be certain properties where you will not need to be a rent. If the property you are purchasing has maximised the share that it is possible to own, which can vary from 50% to 80%, then a rent payment is not required. This is subject to Lease provisions so please do check the Lease to confirm. A service charge is still likely.
Usually, when you buy a Shared Ownership resale, you’ll need to pay a service charge. This fee helps cover the cost of maintaining and looking after shared spaces and the building’s structure. You can find how much the service charge is on all our property listings.