How does it work?
We’ll try and keep this simple! In a nutshell, we buy a home together: You buy the share of a house that you can afford and we buy the rest. You then pay the mortgage on your bit and pay us rent on our bit.
This rent is lower than what you would pay if you were renting privately. For example, if the home you want to purchase is valued at £120,000 and you purchase 50% the monthly rent would be £125. To find out how much your rent and mortgage could be visit our calculator. When you’re confident that you can afford it, you can increase your share by buying back some of our bit. If your plan is to eventually own 100% of the house we’d encourage you to do this as soon as you can. Don’t worry though; although the majority of co-owners buy us out fully or sell on their property there’s no requirement for you to increase your share at all.
8 steps to home owning
- 1. Apply!
We recommend you check your credit report before applying to make sure there are no surprises.
Apply online at co-ownership.org and we’ll assess your financial circumstances (£100 non-refundable assessment fee). Applications started but not submitted within 90 days will be deleted.
- 2. Get approved
The application process will include a credit check with Experian. If successful, you’ll receive your Co-Ownership Approval that you can share with your bank, estate agent and seller. Your Co-Ownership Approval is valid for 4 months.
If you are unsuccessful, we will give you as much information as possible as to why.
- 3. Your mortgage
Have an initial chat with your bank or mortgage adviser to see how much of a mortgage you would be able to get. They will advise when to apply for your mortgage. To find out more about applying for a mortgage, click here.
- 4. Find a home
Find your perfect home up to the amount in your Co-Ownership Approval and upload the details to your application. (There’ll be a £550 property fee which covers your property assessment and most of your legal fees). In order to avoid disappointment, please check that your chosen property meets our requirements before agreeing to a sale. You can find a list of our property criteria here.
- 5. Get your home approved
We’ll carry out a property assessment to check it’s of a good standard and represents value for money. If all is in order we’ll agree the share we can purchase with you. To view our property criteria click here.
- 6. The offer
You’ll receive a formal offer for us to purchase a share of your new home.
- 7. The legal bit
Your solicitors will complete their bit and make sure all the paperwork is in order. Check out our Help & Support section for more info on our legal package.
- 8. Move in!
Congratulations, you’re now a co-owner!
We’ll contact you shortly after you move in reminding you how much rent is due for your first month, and then how much will be due each month after that.
