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Housing
Looking for 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
- Who is eligible?
- What is HomeBuy
- New build Homebuy
- Resales through HomeBuy
- HomeBuy for key workers
- How to apply for HomeBuy
- Other new build shared ownership schemes
- Brighton & Hove
- Horsham
- Worthing
- Shared ownership resales
- Other general information about affordable home
ownership
- Buying more shares
- Finding out what properties are available
- Finding a solicitor
- Selling your home later on
- For more information (and other websites)
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.
Note : This form can be partially or
fully filled on screen but then needs printing and signing before returning :
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 0845 359 6161. Moat's customer enquiry team is available from 8:30am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday.
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.
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.
For further information see :
- Homebuy section on the Moat website (see their 'our properties section) (www.moat.co.uk/I_am_looking_for_a_home/Apply_for_HomeBuy/Apply_for_HomeBuy/)
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 0845 359 6161 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.
Note : This form can be partially
or fully filled on screen but then needs printing and signing before returning :
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 Property search on the Moat Website (www.moat.co.uk/I_am_looking_for_a_home/Property_search_and_available_properties/).
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 saying that you are interested in this particular scheme - for details see the Southern Housing website (www.shho.org.uk).
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)
- Brighton & Hove City Council - Housing Advice (www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/index.cfm?request=c1107681)
Horsham : (to the north of Adur)
- Horsham DC - Housing Advice (www.horsham.gov.uk/housing.aspx)
Worthing : (to the west of Adur)
- Worthing BC - Housing Advice (www.worthing.gov.uk/worthings-services/housingandhousingsupport/)
- 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.
- See also : Worthing Homes website (www.worthing-homes.org.uk)
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. For more details see the Property search on the Moat Website (www.moat.co.uk/I_am_looking_for_a_home/Property_search_and_available_properties/).
See also:
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 £3,500 to cover the initial one-off costs is realistic. To proceed with your application, you will need to have access to at least £3,500, 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/I_am_looking_for_a_home/Mortgage_and_legal_advice/Legal_and_mortgage_advice/). 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 0845 359 6161 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
If you proceed to purchase through a shared ownership scheme you will need professional legal advice with experience and knowledge of HomeBuy and other schemes - Moat suggests a panel of solicitors (www.moat.co.uk/I_am_looking_for_a_home/Mortgage_and_legal_advice/Legal_and_mortgage_advice/) 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.
For more information
For more information about the schemes above please contact the :
- Housing Options department at Adur District Council on (01273) 263223
or send Housing Options an e-mail
Or you can contact the shared ownership providers directly:
(full information and contact details
are available on their websites)
- Southern Housing Group (www.shho.org.uk)
- HomeBuy (www.homebuy.co.uk)
- Moat (www.moat.co.uk)
- Worthing Homes (www.worthing-homes.org.uk)
- INplace (www.inplace.co.uk)
- TSA - Tenant Services Authority (www.tenantservicesauthority.org)
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)
- www.abodewithme.co.uk
- www.rightmove.co.uk
- www.yourhomefinder.co.uk - website currently unavailable (Note : there is a registration charge for this website, but you can view the site first to see if is useful to you. The charge to register is £19:75 as at November 2007).
