I want to sell my Shared Ownership homes but it sounds like I need to jump through a lot of hoops. Is it really that complicated?
It may seem like you need to jump through a lot of hoops to sell your Shared Ownership home. But with the right guidance and support from your housing association it needn’t be tricky.
The first thing you need to do is tell your housing association you want to sell. They have the right to nominate a new buyer for your property or to market your share over an eight-week period, depending on what it says in your lease. They may already have someone registered who’s looking for a place like yours. If so, this is a great position to be in as it could save you money on fees you would normally have to pay an estate agent. But remember, your housing association is still likely to charge a fee to cover the work they need to do to sell your share.
If your housing association is unable find a buyer within the time, then you’re free to sell your home on the open market. You can do this privately or through an estate agent. Worth bearing in mind though, buyers will still need to meet the eligibility criteria for Shared Ownership. But finding a new buyer shouldn’t be difficult as demand for Shared Ownership resales is currently very high. The price of your share in the property is quite simply determined by the share you own in it. So if you own 50% of a property valued at £200,000, the price of your share will be £100,000.
If you can afford to, you can usually buy the remaining shares in your property from the housing association. This is known as ‘staircasing’. Once you own 100% of your home, you can sell it on the open market.
As always, make sure you choose an experienced and reputable solicitor to act on your behalf and talk to your housing association if you need any other help.
Network Homes has an expert and friendly team which specialises in sales of Shared Ownership homes. Visit www.networkhomessales.co.uk to find out more.
Lisa Ley, Head of Sales and Marketing at Network Homes