Can I get help if I want to own my own home?
If you have any savings or assets, it is always worth exploring options available to you through affordable home ownership. There are several alternatives to a traditional mortgage for those looking to own their own homes, many of which are much easier to access due to requiring lower up-front deposits.
Shared Ownership
Shared Ownership is a scheme where you buy a proportion of the value of a property and pay rent on the rest. For example, you could buy 25% of a property and pay rent on the remaining 75%. This would mean that you would only have to pay a deposit on the proportion you buy, the 25%, which would mean your deposit would be a lot less than a traditional mortgage. Shared Ownership properties typically require a deposit of 5-10% minimum, on the proportion of the property’s value that you are buying.
So, for example, if a property costs £150,000, and you are looking to put a 5% deposit down on 25% of the value, you will only need to put down £1875 as a deposit.
If you own a Shared Ownership property you are also able to gradually buy greater amounts of your property if you wish to do so. This used to be in 10% instalments, however this year the government announced plans to change this to 1% instalments. So if you initially buy for example 25%, 50%, or 75%, you can eventually own 100% of the property by buying it back in instalments.
You can buy a property through Shared Ownership if:
- You are a first-time buyer, you used to own a home but now can’t afford to buy one, or you already own a shared ownership property but are looking to move
- You live in a household with an income lower than £80,000
- If you are interested in purchasing a Shared Ownership property, read more information and advertisements.
Help to Buy
Help to Buy is a scheme where the government lends you up to 20% of the cost of your newly built home, so you’ll only need a 5% cash deposit and a 75% mortgage to make up the rest.
You will have to be a first-time buyer to be eligible for Help to Buy, and in Coventry you will be eligible for Help to Buy on newly built properties up to the value of £250,000. This includes both flats and houses.
You can also open a Lifetime ISA, a bank account which replaces the old Help To Buy ISA’s and is there to help with this cost. They are bank accounts where the government will boost your savings by 25%. So, for example, if you were able to save £200 a month, the government would give you another £50 on top of that.
Discount Market Sale
Discount Market Sale is a scheme led by Housing Associations where they sell properties at 20-50% below market value. The scheme is generally closer to 20% and is designed for lower income households to get a foot onto the property ladder via a traditional mortgage at a reduced cost.
As Discount Market Sale is solely managed by Housing Associations, you will need to contact them directly if you are interested in it.