Buying a Shared Ownership home is an affordable way to get onto the property ladder that enables you to own more of your home over time through a process known as staircasing. Read on to find out how staircasing works.
What is Staircasing?
Staircasing is the process of buying more shares in your Shared Ownership home. It provides a path towards full home ownership with no fixed timescales – you do it at your own pace when your financial circumstances allow.
You can take as many steps as you need to full ownership when staircasing. Designed to offer flexibility, it allows you to purchase more shares as and when you can – this could be in stages as your financial situation changes, or in shorter steps should you be able to.
What could the journey to full ownership look like?
For example, John and his partner purchased 30% of their shared ownership home in 2017 based on their finances at the time. Just two years later in 2019, a combination of promotions and additional savings allowed them to purchase a further 20% of the property, also reducing their rent payments. The last few years they focused on saving as much as they can, so were delighted just seven years later, to finally purchase the remaining 50% of the home, staircasing their way to full ownership in three steps.
Staircasing delivers a range of benefits. It is not only an investment in the equity of your home, it also reduces the amount you pay on the remaining share.
John and his partner are a fitting example - when they owned 30% of the property, they were paying rent at £434.60 per month. When they purchased an additional 20% of the home, their rent dropped to £310.43 per month. Finally, when they bought the remaining 50% share, their rent reduced to zero. The greater the share you own in the property, the less rent you pay.
What circumstances will allow me to buy more shares?
The above story is one of many reasons that our customers have used staircasing to increase their share of their home. Many of our customers decide to staircase when they get a salary increase, make a career move, have a partner move in with them or receive an inheritance. For others, staircasing is part of a long-term plan that ties in with their remortgage period.
Staircasing provides the opportunity to take a considered approach to your financial commitments. A higher monthly mortgage cost, for example, could be offset by a reduced rent payment. Economic deflation, meanwhile, could present the opportunity to grow your share of equity when falling house prices make it a favourable time to do so. It is entirely up to you.
Staircasing provides a flexible way for you to work towards full home ownership according to your own circumstances and timescale. If you are ready to start your own staircasing journey we would love to talk to you.
How can I find out more?
We would love to talk to you on the contact details below, or you can use one of our tools
- Use our staircasing calculator https://my.sovereign.org.uk/shares-calculator
- Email us on mailto:staircasing@sovereign.org.uk
- Call us: 0300 330 0718
Start your Staircasing journey today with Sovereign Network Group
NOTE:
Individual lease conditions apply in regards to minimum share increases and maximum share of the home that can be purchased. You can speak with the Staircasing and Resales team to confirm the specific details of your lease.