Buying more shares

Shared owners start off by purchasing a 25-75% share of their home so almost all shared owners can buy more shares at a later date if they want to and can afford to. There are occasionally some properties where you can’t quite buy 100%.

When's a good time to buy more shares?

• If you have just been promoted
• changed jobs or got a large pay increase
• inherited some money
• if you have a new partner living with you

Also, if you bought your property a few years ago, you may be pleasantly surprised to find out that you have built up some equity in the property which could put you in a strong position to buy more shares.

Shared owners can increase the share they own in their property at any time but it is important to consider all the related costs before you proceed.

In addition, your rent account and any other charges due must be up to date now and throughout the process. Don’t forget, the more additional shares you purchase, the lower the rent you’ll pay your Housing Association!

Getting started

If you are a shared owner with Affinity Sutton you’ll need to fill in a Staircasing Instruction Form which gives us the necessary details to get going.

If you have improved your property, the value of these home improvements will be disregarded by the valuer for staircasing purposes. This means that you will not pay the increase in value due to improvements that you have already paid for.

Getting your property valued

You’ll need to pay for an independent valuation will be carried out on your home by RICS registered surveyors.

When you have received the valuation you will need to work out whether you want to buy some more shares (in minimum 10% share tranches) and if so, how many. The valuation will be valid for 3 months.

If you are purchasing more shares in your property, but not the full 100%, we’ll put you in touch with an independent financial adviser who will help you work out how much more you can afford to buy.

We’ll then send you an offer which will detail how much it will cost and what your new rent will be. There will also be a list of any fees payable.

If you are buying 100% then you will own the property outright and there will be no rent payable any more although you will still be liable for service charges.

Like any legal process, you’ll need to appoint a solicitor and find a mortgage, unless you are buying more shares with cash.

The lender will value your property and will issue a mortgage offer if this is required.

The solicitor will advise you and provide new documents for you to sign.

Once all this is done you’ll be the proud owner of even more of your home!