Affordable Homes

Shared Ownership is a part-buy, part-rent scheme for people who can’t afford to buy a home with a commercially-available mortgage.

It’s backed by the government, and is a way to buy a share in a home now with the option to buy more of it in the future.

You’ll need a minimum level of income/savings depending on the value of the home you want to buy.

With Shared Ownership you can buy more shares in your home or buy it outright whenever you can afford to, in a process called Staircasing.

To find out more about buying more shares in your home, click into the Staircasing page on this website. For details of how to apply, please see our step-by-step guide.

The Rent to Buy scheme is effectively a way to 'try before you buy'. It allows you to sample life in your new home while you save up for a deposit.

You can rent your chosen home at an affordable discounted rate (usually up to 20% lower than average local market rents) for between three and five years.

Then, as your circumstances change you can purchase shares of your home (Shared Ownership) or even buy it outright.

Please note that there is limited availability on this scheme.

The Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme offers prospective buyers a 20% equity loan, funded by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). Buyers only need to find a 5% deposit.

A Help to Buy Equity Loan is available to all buyers purchasing a property of up to £600,000 and there is no income threshold.

Like all Help to Buy schemes, the home you buy must be your sole property. Once you've found a home available through the scheme, all you need to do is fill out a Property Information Form to start the application process and contact the developer selling the home you want to buy.

Resale properties are Shared Ownership homes which are being sold on by their current owners.

If you find a home on this scheme that you want to buy, you can apply online and we will assess your eligibility to do so.

Homes bought via the re-sale route can often be purchased through Shared Ownership or on an outright basis.

Please ring a member of the Plumlife sales team on 0161 447 5050 for more information.