You buy a share of the property – normally starting from 40% – which can be funded by a traditional mortgage or a cash lump sum. You pay us rent on the share you don’t own, usually calculated at a standard subsidised rate of 2.75%.
It’s an affordable way to jump on the property ladder. The minimum deposit is much lower than when purchasing a home on the open market, because it’s only based on the share you’re buying – and it can be as low as 5%.
You can usually buy further shares in your home when you can afford to – and you could eventually own 100% of your property. We offer both new-build and pre-owned (often known as resale) shared ownership homes.
One of the following must also be true:
*If you own a home, you must have sold subject to contract to be allocated a property. You must have completed the sale of the home on, or before the date you complete your shared ownership purchase.
As well as meeting the eligibility criteria, you must also be able to show you can afford a shared ownership home. You’ll need to complete a short online affordability assessment, to make sure you can manage the mortgage, rent, service charge and bills for the home you’re applying for.
This initial affordability assessment is carried out by settle’s appointed financial advisor to ensure you meet the financial criteria for the home you are interested in. This is free of charge and will provide you with an idea of what share will be affordable for you and what your monthly costs could be. Head to the relevant development page for the link to the appointed financial advisor’s online form.
Even though our new build homes may not be available see in person, site plans, floor plans, brochures and images will help you get feel for the property and enable you to imagine living there.
It’s easy to learn more about our new developments through this website. We release initial information up to 12 months before the homes are expected to be completed – with further details such as site plans and brochures published as they become available. We then release property prices, and at this stage you can complete your affordability assessment based on the value of the home you wish to buy.
You can register your interest for any of our developments, and we’ll keep you updated as soon as further information is released.
On most developments we allow a period of time for applicants to complete all the required steps before we allocate our new homes.
Find your home and Register Your Interest
Once the home is available we'll notify you by email & explain how you can complete your Initial Affordability Assessment and settle Application Form
Book Your Viewing Online by Visiting relevant Development Page
You’ll hear lots of terms surrounding shared ownership – here’s a quick guide to make sense of them all.
The percentage of the home you will own. You’ll either obtain a mortgage to buy your share, or you can purchase the share in cash (subject to criteria).
The amount you’ll pay to the housing association (settle) for the share you do not own. On new build homes this is usually set at 2.75% of the share owned by settle, but can vary depending on the development. This will usually increase annually by RPI + 0.5% (this will be written into your lease).
A fee for the estate management of the development, such as landscaping management, maintenance of unadopted roads, communal cleaning and estate lighting. It also includes buildings insurance – you will be responsible for arranging your contents insurance.
Anyone looking to buy a new home must know what’s affordable for them. The initial affordability assessment is a short calculation based on your income and outgoings to determine what share you can afford. This calculator created by the government to ensure buyers will not be stretching their affordability. This does not affect your credit score.
When a purchaser reserves a home without having seen the property itself (because it’s still under construction). Our sales team will provide you with as much information as possible to help you make a decision about reserving a home without having seen the property.
The document which will be produced and sent to you, your chosen solicitors and your mortgage broker to officially instruct the sale of the property to you.
All lenders will require you to pay for a mortgage valuation, to be carried out after you’ve applied for your mortgage. This is to ensure they are satisfied with the value of the property before they commit to lending.
The building company who are building the new homes on the site.
When contracts are exchanged you are legally bound into purchasing the property. Before this point, you will have transferred your deposit to your solicitors and signed your contract and lease. Your solicitor will have already provided you with all the information you require before committing to the purchase of your new home.
The date that the property will be finished by the developer, and handed over to the settle sales team. The defect period will also start from this date. This is not when you receive your keys.
When you officially complete on the purchase of your new home. On this date you’ll meet the settle sales team to collect your keys. Congratulations!
When you purchase more shares in the property over time, as you can afford to. Owning more means you pay less rent to us, and you can own up to 100% of your home. Learn more about staircasing here
When you sell your shared ownership property. We’ll help market your property initially, and then it may go on the open market. Learn more about resales here.