If you’re considering buying a shared ownership home, you may have heard the term ‘staircasing’. So, what does this mean?
Staircasing is the process of buying more shares in your shared ownership home. This means you’ll gradually increase your stake in your home, all the way up to 100% outright ownership if that’s what you choose.
Why should you consider staircasing?
When purchasing your shared ownership home, you’ll buy the share you can afford at the time. This could be anywhere between 25% and 75% of the home. We find that most of our customers buy a 40% share of their home in the initial sale.
Your financial situation may change as time goes on – people get promotions, new jobs, and start new relationships all the time. It’s reasonable to assume that you may eventually be able to afford a larger share of your home than you initially bought.
As your share increases, your stake in the equity grows and the percentage you pay rent on gets smaller. Many people consider owning property as an investment as well as a home – the larger your share, the larger your investment.
When can you staircase and how much will it cost?
You can staircase as and when you can afford to, the only stipulation is that you buy at least a 10% share. The cost of additional shares will be based on the current value of your home at the time of staircasing.
But can you staircase to 100%?
Yes – and that’s the best bit! You can staircase all the way up to 100% with our homes, which means that you’d own your home outright.
Speak to us about staircasing…
You’ll likely want to buy more shares of your home when the time is right and we understand that staircasing is a big decision.
If you’re considering staircasing and would like more information – or just want to talk about shared ownership – our team are here to help. You can email us at newhomes@cerrishomes.co.uk or call us on 01782 854748.