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Shared Ownership Solicitors Stoke-on-Trent

12/05/2016
Low Cost Conveyancing
Competitive Conveyancing Fees
The shared ownership conveyancing process differs to a standard sale or purchase and you'll want to make sure that the costs don't go up. We only give Fixed Conveyancing Quotes which include all the work in just one low price.

No Sale No FeeNo Sale, No Fee Conveyancing
Our quotes include as standard our No Sale No Fee cover which means if for any reason your transaction should fall through, you won't incur the costs of the legal work to date.




Local ExpertiseStaffordshire Professionals
Our solicitors use their local knowledge of Stoke-on-Trent to ensure your home move completes as smoothly as possible. We have worked with most of the leading local estate agents and have direct connections with Stoke-on-Trent City Council.


Conveyancing Quality Scheme CQSConveyancing Quality Scheme & On All Mortgage Lender Panels
The Law Society has awarded our solicitors the CQS badge of excellence which means we are able to deliver conveyancing services in Stoke-on-Trent to the high standards expected; which are regulated annually. We are also able to work with any mortgage lender in England & Wales including Metro Bank, HSBC, Santander & Halifax Plc.

Call 0333 344 3234 to get your quote  (Local rate call charge) 

Who is eligible to buy shared ownership properties?

Criteria for eligibility for shared ownership do vary and this is also the case for shared ownership properties in and around Stoke-on-Trent. Normally, you can purchase a property via shared ownership if:


Bullet Your household earns £80,000 a year or less (for London this becomes £90,000).


Bullet You are a first time buyer or you used to own a home but cannot afford one now or you are an existing property owner and wish to upsize to a larger property, for example to meet the needs of a growing family.

Bullet You rent a housing association or council property.

NB Shared ownership eligibility criteria changes from time to time; to ensure that you are currently eligible please check the Government's latest published information about buying through shared ownership


Shared Ownership Example

If you were to buy a 25% initial share of a £200,000 property in Stoke-on-Trent, it means your share would be worth £50,000.

For this, if you had to save a 10% deposit, this would mean you having to save £5,000. You would have to get a shared ownership mortgage for the rest of the share, i.e. you would have to borrow £45,000 from a lender.

You could choose to pay stamp duty on the whole £200,000 value of the property but you would not need to, because your £50,000 share is less than the £125,000 threshold, above which you have to pay the tax.

You would have to pay £20 to the Land Registry for registration fees, because the value of your portion of the property is between £0 and £80,000, but if the property is a new build and is being registered for the first time, you would have to pay £40.
What is Shared Ownership?
Under shared ownership, you buy a share of a property from a housing association, this is normally 25% minimum, and you pay rent to the housing association on the remaining share.

You have to meet eligibility criteria to be a shared owner - this is discussed below. If you do qualify and want to buy a shared ownership home in Stoke-on-Trent, Meaford, Whitmore or anywhere in Staffordshire, you must do 2 things:

1. Save sufficient funds for a deposit on the percentage share you want to buy (normally 10% of value of share).
2. Secure a shared ownership mortgage from a mortgage lender to cover the remaining sum you will need.

Shared ownership schemes give access to the property market to those who don't have enough money to buy a home on the open market. 

Normally after a year of living in your property, you can buy an increasing percentage of it, with a commensurate reduction in rent. This is called staircasing.

Shared ownership contracts can be quite complicatedand the conveyancing includes dealing with managing agents and a housing association - this is examined here. The importance of instruciting an experienced conveyancing solicitor cannot be understated because the process involves meeting strict deadlines and following set procedures. Getting it wrong can mean you paying a bill far larger than you thought. 

You can find out about shared ownership in Stoke-on-Trent by contacting Stoke-on-Trent City Council by letter to Civic Centre, Glebe Street, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 1HH or by phoning 01782 234 234.

Question-Mark.png How do you Apply for Shared Ownership in Stoke-on-Trent?
We work with all the Housing Associations throughout Staffordshire including L&Q, Family & Mosaic, East Thames Homes and  A2 Dominion.

 

Our Conveyancing Solicitors are experts on Shared Ownership in Stoke-on-Trent.

Our conveyancing quotes are specially geared towards your specific transaction. The fixed fee covers all of the work needed to complete your shared ownership conveyancing. Our conveyancing solicitors assist people moving home throughout Stoke-on-Trent and its locale: they make sure we always provide fixed and competitive quotes.

If you would like a fixed fee quote for conveyancing which is specially tailored to your property, call 0333 344 3234.