Buying a home

If you are thinking of buying your own home, you will need to make some plans to guide you through the process. You need to consider:

• your budget
• size of the property needed
• amenities nearby

If you don't think that you can afford to buy a property on the open market, there are other routes to home ownership that may be more accessible to you.

Government Schemes

There are several government-sponsored schemes in place that may be able to assist you in buying a home.

Each scheme is slightly different and may have different eligibility criteria.

More information can be found on the Government's affordable home ownership schemes page.

Shared Ownership

Shared Ownership is sometimes called 'part buy / part rent'. These schemes allow you to buy a percentage share of a property owned by a social housing provider. You then pay a low amount of rent to the social housing provider for the remaining share.

The share you buy may only be small, generally no less than 25 per cent, of the property value. You are then able to buy the remaining shares of the property gradually. This is a process known as 'staircasing'. Not all shared ownership schemes are the same, there are variations in how they operate and rules on eligibility.

Rent to Buy

Rent to Buy properties are newly built homes that you can rent. The rent for these homes is about 20% cheaper compared to similar properties in the open market. The aim is to help you save money for a future home and buy the deposit using the savings from the reduced rent.