There are just ten steps on the route to purchasing a Shared Ownership home.
Step one: check your eligibility
You must meet the following criteria to apply for a Shared Ownership home.
- You must be 18 years or older.
- You cannot own another home. Most Shared Ownership buyers are first-time buyers, but you can apply if you are in the process of selling another property.
- Your annual household income must not exceed £80,000, or £90,000 per year in London.
- You must be in a position where you cannot currently afford to buy a home that meets your housing needs on the open market.
- You will need to demonstrate that you are not in mortgage or rent arrears.
- You’ll need to share details about your financial situation so an accurate affordability assessment can be carried out. This includes providing full disclosure of any relevant financial information to help ensure the home is affordable for you.
Step two: Find a property
Check out the homes we have to offer and find a property that looks like it could be your dream home. Then get in touch with us to register your interest.
Step three: Sort your funds (no savings needed at enquiry stage)
On receipt of your enquiry an application form will be sent to you providing you meet the local connection and Shared Ownership criteria.
Step four: Apply for your home Stage 1
- We will send you an application form to complete (applicants will be treated on first come first served basis).
- Please be aware only the first two applications received will be sent to our Mortgage Broker for the initial affordability assessment. If you are nominated for the property you will be invited for a viewing.
Step five: Stage 2 Assessment
Following the viewing, should you wish to proceed with your application we will ask our Mortgage Brokers to carry out a more detailed financial assessment to ensure you meet Homes England’s affordability criteria.
Step six: Offer
If your application is successful, you will receive an official offer to purchase your home!
Step seven: Solicitors
When you have accepted the offer it’s time to find a solicitor, we recommend choosing a solicitor that has experience in Shared Ownership purchases, and it’s worth contacting a few solicitors to check their rates before you make a selection. Ask about costs of local searches, stamp duty and other costs associated with buying a property before you agree to use their services. Then, pass on the solicitor details to Raven Homes.
Step eight: Secure your mortgage
At the same time as employing a solicitor, you’ll need to complete your full mortgage application.
Step nine: Sales progression
Once finances are in order and searches and surveys are complete on both sides, it will be time to sign and exchange contracts and arrange a date to complete the purchase.
If you’re buying a new build property, we’ll keep in touch about the expected completion date.
Step ten: Get packing!
Congratulations! You’re a homeowner and it’s time to pack up and get moved into your Raven Homes property.
The route to selling your Shared Ownership home is relatively similar to selling any house, with the key difference being Raven Homes initially has nomination rights to find another Shared Ownership buyer for your property.
There are six steps on the roadmap to selling your Shared Ownership home, as you can see below.
Step one: Notification
When you are ready to sell your home, you must notify the Raven Homes sales team in writing to get the ball rolling.
Our team can then go through any lease terms that apply in respect of the sale of your home so you are clear on things including the usually 1% of the full marketing price plus VAT and the nomination period – which is how long Raven Homes has to find a buyer before the property can be listed elsewhere.
Step two: Valuation
You must get your home valued by an RICS-approved valuer at your own cost to establish the property’s current market value. We cannot accept an estate agent’s report.
When we receive the valuation, the next step is to verify your ID and take photos of your home to get ready for sale. We can do this in two ways, either by visiting your home to check your passport and take photos, or by emailing your own photos along with ID.
Step three: Marketing your home
We will market your home for the same share you currently own on our Raven Homes website and the Share to Buy website, including all key information about the home and the images of the property on both sites.
Step four: Assessing eligibility and processing applications
During the nomination period, Raven Homes will assess every application on a first-come, first-served basis and go through a similar process with applicants as you undertook when you purchased your Shared Ownership property to ensure any new buyer has the finances to buy and maintain the property.
When in a position to do so, Raven Homes will be in touch with you to arrange any necessary viewings of your home.
Please note: although Raven Homes arrange the times and dates you’ll be responsible for showing the property.
Step five: The sale process
Now it’s time for both you and the buyer to instruct solicitors to handle the legal work and progress the sale to completion.
This is the end of the journey for many. However, if Raven Homes has been unsuccessful in finding a suitable buyer, then you will need to travel to step six.
Step six: Past the nomination period
In the event of the nomination period ending before Raven Homes can find a buyer, you have two choices:
- Continue marketing with Raven Homes for an agreed extended nomination period.
- Instruct an Estate Agent of your choice to sell the property on the Shared Ownership or an outright sale on the open market.
If you choose option two, you will need to send the contact information of your chosen Estate Agent to Raven Homes so we can provide them with any necessary information.
If the agent sells your home outright, it will simultaneously staircase to 100%.
Your Raven Homes sales team representative can explain how this works for you.