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Housing

Affordable home ownership in Adur and the surrounding area

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General information about affordable home ownership

Shared ownership options in Adur

There are a number of affordable home ownership schemes that may be suitable for people who have a large lump sum of money, or those people who are earning, but fall short of the required salaries needed to get a big enough mortgage.

The schemes described here are run by Registered Social Landlords (RSLs). Moat currently runs the Homebuy schemes in the Adur district, covering loans to people buying on the open market, some new build shared ownership schemes, and some schemes for key workers. Various other RSLs run their own shared ownership schemes in Adur and the surrounding districts. The schemes are all regulated by the Housing Corporation.

Who is eligible?

You will be eligible to apply for any of the affordable home ownership schemes described here if you have the right to reside permanently in the UK. If you are not a British citizen this means you should have 'indefinite leave to remain' stamped inside your passport. People from member states of the EU/European Economic Area may also apply if you are currently living and working in the UK.

Most schemes favour first time buyers or occupiers of social housing. However, shared ownership is not exclusively for people who fall into these categories and each case is assessed individually.

To be eligible for affordable home ownership you must be on our Housing Waiting List. If you need an application to go onto our waiting list please phone our lettings department on (01273) 263317. Alternatively you can apply on-line by using our on-line application form.

To be eligible for any of the Homebuy schemes you must also be registered on Moat's list. Detailed information and application forms are available on-line at www.homebuy.co.uk or www.moat.co.uk. Alternatively call Moat on 07002 662 848. Moat's customer enquiry team is available from 8:30am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday.

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HomeBuy logo (www.homebuy.co.uk)What is HomeBuy?

HomeBuy is a programme that helps people who wish to buy a property but cannot afford to. In some districts HomeBuy also offers rented housing at rent levels below those on the open market. For more details of these go to the HomeBuy website at www.homebuy.co.uk

Most people who apply for HomeBuy are first time buyers, but the programme can also help you if you need to buy a property in situations where your household has outgrown existing arrangements or where you need to buy a property because of a relationship breakdown.

Most of the people housed through HomeBuy are people with a housing need, public sector key workers, and people in other priority groups, for example council or housing association tenants.

Open market HomeBuy :

offers an equity loan so that you purchase approximately 75% of the equity in a property of your choice from the open market, subject to criteria. The remaining 25% is funded through the equity loan with no interest to pay on that loan. The loan is repayable at market value when the property is eventually resold. Open Market HomeBuy is mainly for key workers.
Note : Open Market HomeBuy is currently under government review and may be subject to change around October 2006. The change is likely to alter the information described on this web page. At the moment Open Market HomeBuy is still available to people other than key workers. However, this is expected to change. For people who are not key workers the main options are New Build HomeBuy and Resales.
 

MyChoiceHomeBuy :

Moat launches new HomeBuy product to help people on to the property ladder in (Essex/Kent/Sussex)

South East based housing association, Moat, has just launched a new low cost home ownership product, designed to help people who cannot afford to buy a property on the open market. The product - MyChoiceHomeBuy - provides grants for social tenants, key workers and people in priority groups to purchase a property. The grants are provided jointly by Moat and the Housing Corporation.

MyChoiceHomeBuy provides up to 50% of the value of a property as an equity loan. The remainder is funded through a conventional mortgage. A low rate of 1.75% per year is payable on the equity loan - this rises at RPI plus 1% per annum. The product enables use of deposits although these are not essential. When the property is sold, Moat will be entitled to a share of any increase in the value of the property, equivalent to the share that is being funded by the grant.

Applicants who qualify can look for a property of their choice on the open market, through an estate agent, local newspaper ads, the internet, etc. Following a financial assessment, Moat provides applicants with indicative price bands for properties they can go ahead and look for. Savings or access to £3,500 are required to ensure applicants can afford the initial one-off costs of buying a home.

Moat anticipates assisting people earning from £22,000 upwards, making this product affordable to many key public sector workers in the South East. Currently, a family on a combined income of £35,000 could typically obtain a mortgage of £120,000. If eligible for MyChoiceHomeBuy, they could potentially buy a home worth £240,000, depending on their individual circumstances.

MyChoiceHomeBuy is a national product that is being offered to people across the country through the government’s established network of HomeBuy Agents. Moat is offering it to people who live or work in Essex, Kent and Sussex - three areas where the housing association is the government’s appointed HomeBuy Agent.

Moat is adding MyChoiceHomeBuy to its existing range of HomeBuy products; these include new build properties, resales and the First Time Buyers’ Initiative. From 1 April 2008 MyChoiceHomeBuy will replace existing Open Market HomeBuy products.

Moat’s director of sales and marketing, Marilyn DiCara, says:
“There are clear issues of affordability across all areas of Essex, Kent and Sussex, evidenced by the hundreds of applications that Moat receives each week from people looking to buy an affordable home.

MyChoiceHomeBuy complements our range of HomeBuy products. It offers people choice to look for a property that suits their own individual household needs, located in the area of their choice and suited to their own price range.”

People who are interested should apply to Moat via the online application process on its website at www.moat.co.uk. Full details of the MyChoiceHomeBuy product will be published and available online from 1 April 2008. Terms and conditions apply.

More information:

Two documents are available on request. Please telephone 07002 662 846 and request :

New build HomeBuy :

offers new homes on a part buy/part rent basis where you purchase a share in the property, typically 50%, and pay a discounted rent to the housing association on the remaining share. Adur District Council works with a number of housing associations to develop new affordable homes across the district although the number of schemes in development can vary from time to time.  

Resales :

where existing shared owners wish to sell their properties, they may be marketed and sold to people who have applied to Moat and to Adur District Council.  

HomeBuy for key workers :

Some schemes may only be open to 'key workers'. Key workers eligible for HomeBuy are public sector workers in particular jobs. Currently these are :

  • NHS : All clinical staff employed by the NHS except doctors and dentists.
  • Education : Qualified teachers in schools and sixth form colleges, lecturers in FE colleges, children's social workers and qualified nursery nurses in LEA nursery schools only.
  • Police : Police officers and community support officers including those working for the British Transport Police or the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) in certain areas. Some front line civilian police roles are also eligible - this varies by force.
  • Prison Service : Prison officers and related grades, operational support grades, nursing staff and industrials.
  • Probation Service : Probation officers, senior probation officers and probation service officers. Trainee probation officers are eligible for discounted rent properties only.
  • Local Authority : Local authority employed clinical staff, adult social workers, occupational therapists, educational psychologists, speech and language therapists, rehabilitation officers for the visually impaired and qualified nursery nurses. Local authority planners employed by the Local Planning Authority delivering statutory planning services.
  • Fire fighters : Uniformed fire and rescue staff below principal level.

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How to apply for HomeBuy

Moat is the government's appointed HomeBuy Agent in Kent, Sussex and Essex. You can apply to them by :

  • visiting the HomeBuy website at www.homebuy.co.uk and applying on-line. The on-line process should take around 20 to 25 minutes provided you have easy access to your income, expenditure, loans, etc. Please complete all the information you are requested to. If you apply on-line you should receive an email acknowledging receipt of your on-line application after you submit it.
  • ringing Moat on 07002 662 848 any time between 8:30am and 5:30pm from Monday to Friday to ask for an application form
  • calling into the Civic Centre, Ham Road, Shoreham to ask for a HomeBuy application form or to use the computer at our Help Point to apply on-line.

You will also need to apply to Adur District Council to join our Housing Waiting List to ensure you will be given a priority for any of the HomeBuy schemes. Please phone our lettings department on (01273) 263317 for an application form or apply on-line by using our on-line application form.

Demand for affordable homes is always high and Moat is expecting the new HomeBuy programme which started on 1 April 2006 to be very popular. If you are interested, please contact Moat as soon as possible.

New homes booklets

Moat regularly issues booklets containing HomeBuy and Discounted Rental properties across Kent, Sussex and Essex. The properties are provided through a range of housing associations.

For more details see the Sussex (or Kent or Essex) new homes booklets on the Moat Website (www.moat.co.uk/HomeBuy/Pages/Publications.aspx).

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Other new build shared ownership schemes

When residential areas are built they may include an element of shared ownership properties. Currently there are some shared ownership one-bedroom and two-bedroom properties available for key workers at Sussex Wharf. A further 19 one and two-bedroom flats are due to be ready to buy in May 2007. These are not restricted to key workers.

If you wish to be considered for any of these properties, apply through our lettings department on (01273) 263317. You will also need to contact Southern Housing who are running this scheme. Telephone : 020 7553 6420 or apply on-line at www.shho.org.uk or by e-mail to sales@shho.org.uk saying that you are interested in this particular scheme.

See the Homebuy website for details of all schemes currently being marketed through Homebuy in Sussex and Surrey : www.homebuy.co.uk

There are also some new build properties being developed in Worthing, the Horsham and Brighton & Hove. For further details contact :

Brighton & Hove : (to the east of Adur)

Horsham : (to the north of Adur)

  • Housing Services Team
    Park North
    North Street, Horsham
    West Sussex RH12 1RL
    Tel : (01403) 215560
    Fax : (01403) 215243
    e-mail : housing@horsham.gov.uk
    website : www.horsham.gov.uk
     
  • Currently available :
    • 1 and 2-bedroom key worker flats at Downslink, Southwater from £72,500
    • 2-bedroom key worker flats, The Comptons, Horsham from £72,000
    • 1 and 2 Bed Extra Care Retirement Properties, Rowan Drive, Billingshurst from £123,750
    • 1 and 2 Bed Flats, Granary Way, Horsham from £55,200
       
  • For more information, go to Horsham's website at : www.horsham.gov.uk/council_services/council_services_1588.asp

Worthing : (to the west of Adur)

  • To be considered for any schemes in Worthing you will need to apply to Worthing Borough Council. Contact Worthing Borough Council for further information at:
  • Worthing Homes Limited is the main developer in Worthing. To be considered for current developments with Worthing Homes you must also complete a Worthing Homes application form. This is to allow your financial circumstances to be assessed to check whether you are able to afford the housing costs involved.
     
  • Currently there is one scheme in development :

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Shared ownership resales

When the occupiers of a new build shared ownership property want to sell, the housing association will probably keep their share in the property. In this case the property then becomes a Resale shared ownership property. The housing association will advertise the property in a number of ways. They may have a waiting list for people who are looking to buy a shared ownership property. They may advertise Resale properties on their website, or advertise the property through Moat : www.moat.co.uk/moatweb

See also:

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Other general information about affordable home ownership

The costs of buying

Buying a property is expensive and feedback from purchasers confirms that an amount of £3500 to cover the initial one-off costs is realistic. To proceed with your application, you will need to have access to at least £3500, either through savings or from family/friends, without the need to borrow extra money on your mortgage or to take out a personal loan.

If you think you can afford a mortgage we suggest you seek advice from an independent mortgage advisor. Moat suggests a panel of advisors (www.moat.co.uk/MoatWeb/Homebuy/CanIAffordIt). These people have experience and knowledge of mortgages for HomeBuy and other shared ownership schemes and are qualified under the Financial Services Authority to provide mortgage advice.

For details of the financial resources you need to be considered for HomeBuy schemes you can also contact Moat on 07002 662846 to request a copy of the leaflet 'Am I eligible?'.

Buying more shares

If you buy a property through shared ownership - either under the New Build HomeBuy scheme or another RSL scheme - you can increase your ownership at a later stage and own the property outright if you wish to. This is called "staircasing". Many people who buy affordable homes staircase to become full owners.

If you purchase through Open Market HomeBuy you can also buy the remaining 25% at a later stage and own the property outright.

Finding out what properties are available

Many of the housing associations that are offering homes for sale or discounted rent in this area are marketing their properties on-line at www.homebuy.co.uk. Please visit the website to view full details. If you apply to Moat and you are eligible, they will try to match your application to the best possible solution, and they will contact you with more details. Moat will share your application details with other housing associations who may also send you property information. If you are interested in a specific development, please always remember to include the name of the development on your application so that it can be fast-tracked.

You should also apply to Adur District Council letting them know which scheme you are interested in. This ensures that you are considered for all schemes including those marketed by Moat.

Finding a solicitor

You will need professional legal advice if you proceed to purchase through a shared ownership scheme. Moat suggests a panel of solicitors (www.moat.co.uk/MoatWeb/Homebuy/CanIAffordIt/Buying+a+home+-+legal+advice.htm) with experience and knowledge of HomeBuy and other schemes - this can make a big difference to how smoothly your purchase proceeds.

Selling your home later on

For advice about selling and re-purchasing a property you will need to contact the housing association that dealt with the purchase of the home you are moving from.

Please be aware that the market value of properties can go down as well as up.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or any other debt.

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For more information

For more information about the schemes above please contact the :

Or you can contact the shared ownership providers directly using the following numbers :

Other external websites :

Other house or flat swap or home finder websites :

Please make sure you are aware of any charges these websites may make before you use them, Adur District Council cannot accept liability for their content, or any services provided, or for your use of their websites. (sites are listed below alphabetically)

 

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Contact details :

Housing Advice and Options :
Tel : (01273) 263223 / 263010
Fax : (01273) 263326
Send Housing Advice an e-mail

Homelessness :
Tel : (01273) 263204 / 263352
Fax : (01273) 263326
Send Homelessness an e-mail

Lettings :
Tel : (01273) 263316 / 263317
Fax : (01273) 263326
Send Lettings an e-mail

Adur District Council,
Civic Centre, Ham Road,
Shoreham-by-Sea,
West Sussex, BN43 6PR
Minicom : (01273) 263060
website : www.adur.gov.uk

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