Home Ownership Schemes

Stratford-on-Avon District Council, as part of its commitment to providing more affordable housing in this District, is able to offer advice and assistance on the latest Government initiatives to help more households onto the housing ladder.

To assist with delivery of these Schemes, the Government has created HomeBuy Agents. The Agent for Warwickshire is Mercian Housing Association.

More information about the HomeBuy Schemes is given below, and you can also get details from:

• The HomeBuy Agents on their website www.homebuyagents.org.uk or by contacting Mercian Housing Association on 0845 607 6726/0121 377 3725

• The Housing Corporation website, www.housingcorp.gov.uk

• Places for People, online at www.ownhome.co.uk or by phone on 0845 607 0110.

• The Council's Housing Advice Team on 01789 260861 or 01789 260862 or by email to: housingadviceteam@stratford-dc.gov.uk

New Build HomeBuy (formerly Shared Ownership)

This scheme is available to people with a strong local connection to the District, such as being born, work or reside in South Warwickshire. Under this scheme nominated applicants buy a share of a specified housing association property (usually 50%) with a conventional mortgage or savings; and purchasers also pay a monthly rent on the remaining unsold share that is retained by the housing association. With some developments the purchaser of the share can increase the proportion of the property that they own. In some cases the property can be bought outright.

To be considered for this scheme, potential purchasers must:

• be registered on Stratford-on-Avon District Council's Housing Waiting List.
• be a first time buyer (including divorced and separated couples) and
• be either a current local authority or housing association tenant
• or be registered on a local authority waiting list

Applicants also need to be registered on the HomeBuy Agent's website (see above) to be considered for some New Build HomeBuy properties which have been built with a government grant.

To assist you with deciding whether New Build HomeBuy is for you, some recent examples of typical costs involved are given in the download on the right.

New HomeBuy Schemes

Two previous schemes, Expanded Open Market HomeBuy and Open Market HomeBuy, were replaced in April 2008 by two new schemes: MyChoiceHomeBuy and Ownhome. A summary of these two schemes is included below, and you can get more information from:

• The HomeBuy Agents on their website www.homebuyagents.org.uk or by contacting Mercian on 0845 607 6726/0121 377 3725

• The Housing Corporation website, www.housingcorp.gov.uk

• Places for People, online at www.ownhome.co.uk or by phone on 0845 607 0110.

MyChoiceHomeBuy

MyChoiceHomeBuy is part-funded by the Government and by eight different housing associations who are equity loan providers (Aldwyck, Bedfordshire Pilgrims, Catalyst, Metropolitan, Swaythling, Thames Valley, and Tower Homes).

Under this scheme:

• you obtain a conventional mortgage for at least 50% of the price of a property found on the open market.
• you borrow the remaining 15% to 50% of the property price from an approved equity loan provider.
• you pay a monthly interest charge on the loan based on up to 1.75% a year, which would then increase by the Retail Price Index plus 1% each year.
• you do not have to obtain a deposit, although you can if you choose.

For example, if you take out an equity loan of 40% on a property priced at £200,000, you would have borrowed £80,000. When you sell the property or pay off the mortgage, if it is worth £300,000, then you will repay 40% (£120,000) to the equity loan provider. If your home decreases in value, you still repay 40%, but it will be be less than the amount originally borrowed.

Ownhome

Ownhome is part-funded by the Governement and is provided by a partnership between Places for People (an equity loan provider) and the Co-Operative Bank.

Under this scheme:

• you get your conventional mortgage from the Co-Operative Bank for at least 60% of the price of a property found on the open market.
• you borrow between 20% and 40% of the property price.
• you make no repayments on the equity loan for the first five years.
• after five years, you are charged 1.75% interest on the equity loan each year, increasing to a fixed rate of 3.75% after a further five years.
• you do not have to obtain a deposit, although you can if you choose.

For more information on Ownhome, please contact Places for People online at www.ownhome.co.uk or by phone on 0845 607 0110.