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The following guide takes you through each stage of the shared ownership sales process from the marketing of a scheme right through to handover of the keys. This will help you to understand what to expect at each stage of the process.

If you are considering buying through the shared ownership scheme then it is recommended that you read through all of our guides, so that you know what to expect throughout the process.

 

Application

Once you have found a Coastline development or property that you are interested in, you will need to register your interest on Share to Buy, this will notify us of your interest and add you onto our mailing list. Once you have registered your interest, a member of the Sales Team will be in touch with further information about the development/property, if there is still availability. The team will provide a link to our online application form.

When completing the online application, we will ask you to provide your proof of ID and confirm you authorise Coastline Housing to hold and process your personal data for the purposes of your application. If there are local connection requirements for a property that you have applied for, we will also require your proof of local connection. You can demonstrate your local connection in a number of ways, some examples would be; bank statements, utility bills, state benefit receipts, written certification (qualified persons: Solicitor/Social Worker/Probation Officer/ Inland Revenue Officer/Police Officer/Teacher/Doctor) payslips, written confirmation from employer or council tax bills.

Once you have completed the application form, provided us with your ID and any local connection evidence (if applicable), we will then send you the link for the financial assessment.

Financial assessments are carried out by The Mortgage People (TMP – more information on TMP can be found on our FAQ’s guide). TMP will collect some financial information from you in order to carry out the initial financial assessment. The assessment should provide us with enough data to make a decision on whether or not a home is affordable and sustainable for you.

Initial Assessment

Once we have the initial financial assessment from TMP and you have submitted an online application form, we should be able to establish if we are able to offer you a home.  If we need more information, we will be in touch with you.

 

Shortlisting

Shared ownership properties are sold on a first come first served basis, on developments where there is a large volume of applicants, there will be a closing date for when we will stop inviting applications for the development. Applications will then be processed and reviewed in order of the date that we received a completed application and a complete financial assessment for each applicant.

 

Offer Letter

If you are offered a home, we will send you an offer letter confirming the details of the property. If you wish to secure the property, we will require you to provide further documents to TMP so we can complete the final stage of the financial assessment. You will have five working days to provide the documents mentioned below.

Providing your Documents

Once we have offered you a property we need to carry out a second-stage financial assessment. This is to ensure;

a) You will be able to afford home ownership without over-committing yourself financially;

b) You are unable to afford to buy on the open market;

c) You have sufficient savings to cover the costs associated with buying a home, such as solicitor’s fees, mortgage arrangement fees, etc. You will not be able to add these to your mortgage; and

d) You have a good credit history.

 

 

You will have five days to provide TMP the following evidence to support your application;

 

  • Copy of your credit report – more information on this can be found in our Financing the Purchase of your Home leaflet;
  • Evidence of any regular overtime or bonuses not shown on your payslips from your employer;
  • Evidence of any other income, such as: income from benefits, maintenance from a former partner, income from savings and investments;
  • If you have any loan agreements or credit and store card debts, copies of latest account statements;
  • Evidence of any savings – latest bank or building society statements for all accounts and/or signed letter from family member/friend stating how much they are prepared to give to you towards the purchase; and
  • Mortgage Agreement in Principle (AIP) and the accompanying key facts document.

If you need help with copying or photographing any documentation throughout the buying process, please contact a member of the Sales Team.

Full Financial Assessment

When we have received all of the evidence required to support your application TMP will calculate the share that you will be required to purchase. This figure will vary from buyer to buyer as it is based on their individual circumstances.

We carry out vigorous assessments to ensure we are allocating homes to people that can afford the initial investment and sustain home ownership over the long-term. As a Charity and a Housing Association, many of our developments are funded using grant money from the Government, therefore it is our duty to allocate homes wisely.

If you require a mortgage, TMP are able find a suitable mortgage deal for you and can obtain an AIP, however, you are also able to use your own financial advisor to do this. An AIP is a document from a mortgage lender confirming what amount they are prepared to lend to you and under what terms for a shared ownership mortgage.

We would also recommend at this stage that you research what solicitor you would like to use and obtain an estimate fee for their work on your purchase.

Reservation

Once your assessment has been completed and reviewed, if the outcome is successful we will provide you with a reservation form, home contents sheet, service charge breakdown and direct debit form along with the Summary of Costs, key information document.

As well as the information provided on our offer letter, the reservation form will include the following information:

  • Property details – number of bedrooms, number of parking spaces, building standard and warranty information;
  • Specific costs breakdown; and
  • Conditions of our offer – amount of deposit, mortgage term, completion deadline.

The home content sheet contains information on the specification of the internal fixtures and fittings in your home i.e. kitchen units, appliances etc.

The service charge breakdown gives a detailed breakdown of the different elements involved in your service charges.

We ask you to complete the reservation form by adding your solicitor’s details before you return this to us. Please let us now if you spot any errors, for example, if your full name is not listed correctly.

Please also provide the bank account details from which you wish to pay your monthly rent and service charge. It is essential to add these details to the direct debit form and return it along with the reservation form.

 

It is at this stage that we will also ask you to pay the £250 reservation fee that secures the property. This is deducted from the purchase price when you buy the home. If the sale does not proceed from this point, we will refund your deposit, minus any costs incurred by us.

Mortgage Application

If you are buying your home with a mortgage, you need to submit your full mortgage application to the lender at this stage.

 

Instructing Solicitors

Once you have returned your reservation form, we will issue the Memorandum of Sale (MOS) to both our solicitor and your chosen solicitor. Once your solicitor has confirmed their instruction, they will proceed with the sale to ensure the sale completes within the set deadline. Your solicitor will need to confirm that they are instructed to our solicitor within two weeks of the MOS being issued.

 

Viewings

If you are purchasing a resale property, once we have your completed assessment, you may be able to view the home you have applied for.

If you are purchasing a home on a new development, we will wait until we receive 4 weeks’ notice for build completion of your home. Once this is agreed with the Sales Team, we will be in touch to with you to arrange a viewing.

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Completion Day!

Prior to completion we will be in touch with you to arrange a time to meet you at the property and hand over the keys! On handover day we will give you a ‘home-demo’, explaining the key features of the house, answer any questions you may have and take meter readings to close our account with the utility providers. Remember to register your appliance warranties and contact the utility providers you wish to use to open your accounts with, we recommend you do this on the day you move in to avoid any build-up of debt to the utility providers. It is also your responsibility to notify the council that you have purchased the property so that you can start paying council tax.

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We are continually monitoring and reviewing the services we provide. If you have any comments regarding this leaflet or still have unanswered questions, please e-mail us at: home.ownership@coastlinehousing.co.uk

Get in touch

T: 01209 200230

E: home.ownership@coastlinehousing.co.uk
W: https://coastlinehomeownership.co.uk/

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