Help to Buy: Shared Ownership also known as part-rent part buy is a scheme that offers you chance to buy a share of your home (between 10% and 75% of the home’s value). The buyer then rents the other % of the home from a Registered Provider or Housing Association. The buyer still pays a deposit of a minimum of 5%, however, this only covers the % you will own.
For example, to buy a £200,000 house through the open market route the buyer would pay a minimum 5% deposit of £10,000. If you only wanted to buy a 10% share of the same property under the Help to Buy Shared ownership scheme, your minimum deposit would only be £1,000. This is a 5% deposit on the 10% share.
You could buy a home through 'Help to Buy: Shared Ownership' in England if your household earns £80,000 a year or less (or £90,000 a year or less in London) and you are a first-time buyer, you used to own a home but cannot afford to buy one now or are an existing shared owner looking to move.
The government maintains a registry of organisations that offer homes for Shared Ownership. Access the registry on GOV.UK
These Help to Buy Shared Ownership schemes are currently available in Wirral.
'Rent to Buy' is a government scheme to help with the transition from renting to owning by providing a subsidised rent.
You rent a new build home at approximately 20% below the market rate with an option agreement to buy a share of the home within 5 to 7 years depending on the scheme.
The intention is that while paying 20% less in rent, you may be able to build up a deposit. You are under no obligation to buy the property when the rental term is up.
You may be required to pay a minimum percentage share of the value of the property when the rental term is complete.
There are currently no Rent to Buy schemes available in Wirral (updated 16 May 2023)
The First Homes scheme is a government initiative aimed at reducing the cost of new builds for first time buyers. With First Homes, between 30 and 50% of the market value can be removed from the price of your home. This initiative is a collaboration between new build developers and the government.
To qualify for the First Homes scheme, you must be a first-time buyer of 18 years old or more, and you must be able to get a mortgage for at least 50% of the value of your home. Your income from the previous tax year cannot exceed £80,000.
If you’re buying a new build, the home must have a maximum value of £250,000 after the First Homes discount is applied. That amounts to a maximum property value of £500,000 if 50% is deducted.
For further information visit First Homes Scheme - Own Your Home.
Planning applications for new build open-market housing developments, containing 10 units or more, must deliver a proportion of the total number of homes proposed as Affordable Housing and since 2021 National Planning Policy requires 25% of those to be First Homes. (In Wirral this proportion will be either 10% or 20% depending on the location of the proposed development)
As an illustration a 100 unit development with a requirement to provide 10% Affordable Housing would need to deliver 3 First Homes and at least 5 First Homes where the Affordable Housing requirement is 20%.
The council will ensure the agreed number of First Homes are secured through a legally binding S106 agreement that must be signed by a developer before planning approval is granted.
Housing developers are fully responsible for marketing First Homes, dealing with the application process and ensuring applicants meet the eligibility criteria.
Once a developer has advised they have commenced the marketing of their First Homes we will include a link to their website on this page.
We will also include links to the website of developers who are currently constructing First Homes but have not yet commenced marketing in a 'Coming Soon' section, so you can check for updates on progress of the developments. Some developers may allow you to register interest and issue notifications when marketing commences.