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Wishaw and District Housing Association - Shared Ownership

Shared ownership is a combination of buying and renting and is aimed at people who want to buy their own home but cannot afford a full mortgage at present.  The intention is that they buy an initial share in the property with the option of increasing their share until they own it outright.  The remaining share of the property is rented from the Association.

Although the Association has no plans to build any more properties for shared ownership, there are still some that become available for purchase.  Some of these are advertised and sold on the open market but the Association also holds a waiting list of people interested in purchasing shared ownership.

More information on shared ownership and how it works is available in the Association's Guide to Buying Your Home Through Shared Ownership.

If you wish to be added to the waiting list and be informed of any opportunities to purchase a shared ownership property please obtain a Shared Ownership Application Pack from the Association's Office or alternatively download from our resources section below.

Purchasing Additional Shares

After you have been a sharing owner for 12 months, you have the option of purchasing more shares in your home or, if you are financially able, you can buy the property outright.  This is known as Staircasing.

You can buy shares in multiples of 25% and there is no limit to how many additional shares you buy in one transaction.  The monthly occupancy charge you pay will reduce to reflect the smaller share you then rent from the Association.  The price of the additional shares will be based on the market value of the property at the time and will be set by an independent valuation surveyor appointed by the Association.

If you are considering purchasing more shares in your property, further information and advice is available in your Sharing Owners Handbook - Buying & Selling Shares or you can contact the Association's Owners Services Officer.

Selling Shares

You can choose to sell your share in the property at any time but you must inform the Association in writing beforehand.

You have two options as to how you sell your share;

• NOMINATION RE-SALE
  
  In a nomination re-sale, your share in the property will be sold to an applicant from the Association's shared ownership waiting list at a fixed price determined by an independent surveyor appointed by the Association.
  
  The advantages of a nomination re-sale are that you will not have any advertising or estate agent fees as the Association will market your share by contacting everyone on our shared ownership waiting list for your size of property.  The Association will also liaise between you and potential viewers, arrange viewing and carry out the required financial assessment of any potential purchaser.  You will however, need to instruct a solicitor to carry out all the conveyancing work on your behalf.  Your solicitor will also liaise with the solicitors for the purchaser and the Association on the transfer of ownership.
  
  
• OPEN MARKET RE-SALE
  
  You can choose to advertise and sell your share yourself or through, for instance, an estate agent but you will then be responsible for any costs incurred in marketing the share and for arranging your own valuation survey and viewings.  The Association will still have to approve your proposed purchaser as we have an obligation to ensure that they meet certain criteria for shared ownership.
  
  In an open market re-sale you have the option of selling your share at a fixed price or on an 'offers over' basis.
  
  The advantages of this method of selling are that you may be able to identify a potential purchaser more quickly and that you have the opportunity to maximise the profit you make from the sale by setting your own sale price for the share.

More information and guidance on selling your share is available in your Sharing Owners Handbook - Buying & Selling Shares or you can contact the Association's Owners Services Officer for more detailed advice.

Shared Ownership Resources

Description	File	Size
Shared Owner Application Form/Mandate		237 Kb
Shared Ownership - A Guide to Buying your home through Shared Ownership		885 Kb
Shared Ownership Handbook		3500 Kb

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