Low cost ownership

Low cost home ownership is sometimes referred to as shared ownership (part-rent, part-buy) or shared equity.

If you want to purchase a home of your own, but can’t afford to buy on the open market, Help to Buy could be your way onto the property ladder. The Government has created the Help to Buy scheme to help you take your first steps into home ownership.

Visit Help to Buy South or phone 0800 4561188 if you want to buy in Bedfordshire.

If you are interested in buying in another area please visit Help To Buy to find details of the local Help to Buy agent for that region.

Whether you are looking to get onto the housing ladder or move up it, there are a number of Help to Buy products designed to make buying a home more affordable, including:

Shared ownership

Depending on how much you can afford, shared ownership allows you to buy a percentage share of a property while a local housing association retains the other share.

It is sometimes known as “part-buy part-rent” because you will then be charged a rental payment on the remaining share owned by the housing association. In most cases shared owners can choose to buy additional shares later on to increase their equity.

Equity loans

The Help to Buy equity loan is designed to help you purchase specific new-build properties priced up to £600,000 from participating registered developers with as little as a 5% deposit.

The Government lends you up to 20% of the cost of your new-build home, so you’ll only need to provide a 5% cash deposit and a 75% mortgage to make up the rest. You also won’t be charged loan fees on the 20% loan for the first five years of owning your home