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Shared
Ownership
costs
It’s important to understand the costs when you buy a shared ownership home, both one-off upfront costs and your monthly costs
This 3 minute video explains the costs of buying a Shared Ownership home:
Upfront costs
There are some one-off costs to pay before you move in to your SO Resi home. You can’t borrow money for these as part of your mortgage, so you will need to have saved enough to cover your mortgage deposit for the share you're buying, plus at least £3,000 for these other costs:
- Reservation fee. If you are buying a SO Resi new build home, you will pay a reservation fee of £250. We will refund this amount when your sale completes.
- IFA fees. An Independent Financial Adviser can help find the right mortgage for you, and costs between £400 - £600. This cost is optional, but could save you money in the long run.
- Solicitors fees and disbursements. Solicitors fees for buying your home are typically around £1000. Disbursements - payments made to third parties by the solicitor on your behalf - such as local searches and land registry fees are typically around £500. Your solicitor will give you a quote upfront for these. You must also pay £315 for legal work carried out by SO Resi.
- Stamp duty. This may not apply. Your solicitor can tell you more, what your options are and how the cost would be worked out, so you can decide what’s best for you.
On completion day, you also need to pay one month's rent and service charge upfront.
Monthly costs
Each month you must pay the following:
- Mortgage payment. This is only on the share you buy.
- Rent. For the share you don’t own – the bigger your share, the smaller your rental payment.
- Service charge. This is for the upkeep of communal areas in your building or development.
- The usual costs of owning a home. Such as household bills, costs for looking after the interior of your home and contents insurance.
If you buy a resale home, there may also be ground rent to pay. We'll let you know all the details if there is.
This 3 minute video explains service charges in detail:
Affordability
Before you can buy a Shared Ownership home, we make sure you can afford the cost of living in it.
In accordance with government guidelines, the total cost of your mortgage, rent and service charges must be no more than around 40-45% of your household income after tax.
However, everyone's financial situation is different, depending on your household income, financial commitments, the amount of deposit you have and the value of the home you want to buy.
Therefore, to make sure you can afford to live in your home, you will meet with an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) who will look at your finances and help you decide what you can afford and confirms you meet our affordability conditions. Even if you have a mortgage approved, you can only go ahead if you meet these conditions.
More information
If you prefer, our PDF guide explains the costs of Shared Ownership.
