Shared Ownership - what you need to know

At Cerris Homes, we offer Shared Ownership as a pathway for our customers to successfully buy a property. You own part of your home rather than paying rent on a property with no return.

But what is Shared Ownership? 

Shared Ownership, also known as 'part rent, part buy', is a scheme funded by the government, housing associations and local authorities, which provides a steppingstone to complete home ownership. When you buy a Shared Ownership property, you make a monthly mortgage payment for the share you own, and a subsidised rent payment on the share which is owned by the housing provider. The scheme has been designed to enable you to buy a property which you can afford. The combined monthly mortgage and rent payments are often less than if you were to buy a home outright, or not much more if you were renting. Over time, you can buy a larger share in the property until you own it outright - this process is known as 'staircasing.' 

Common misconceptions of Shared Ownership: 

• You must be a first-time buyer – no, anyone can take the shared ownership route to buying a property, whether its your first or your next of many! 
• It will not be your own space – it will! You buy a percentage of the home and you then get to live in the home whilst paying the rest in rent, its all yours.  
• You cannot have a low mortgage – you can still afford one of our shared ownership homes with a low mortgage!  
• You can’t buy the whole property – you can buy a percentage of the property and pay rent, and you can then also use ‘staircasing’, explained above. You can buy percentages of the property over time until you own it outright.  

If you would like more information regarding Shared Ownership, you can visit our page here.