Home Stepper – A Shared Ownership Scheme

This is dependent on your individual financial circumstances, but you can initially buy up to a 75% share of your home based on your level of affordability.

Yes, you can choose to increase your share of home ownership gradually through a process known as ‘staircasing’. This means that, over time you could own 100% of your home, at this point a transfer of the freehold interest of the house or a transfer of the full leasehold interest of the apartment/flat will need to take place.

Once you've bought your property with Home Stepper, rent will be paid directly to Sage Homes. The monthly amount depends on the value of your home and the size of the share that you decide to purchase. Rent is only paid on the unpurchased share of your home (which is owned by Sage Homes) at a rate of 2.75%.

Your rent will be reviewed annually on 1st April and is usually in line with the year-on-year change to the Retail Price Index (RPI) plus 0.5% in the preceding 12 months. These terms are clearly set out in your lease and our sales teams are on hand to explain the process to you.

In addition to the rent you pay to Sage Homes, you will need to pay 100% of your household bills, including council tax and utility bills, as well as 100% of the costs of any maintenance fees and estate charges that are applicable to the home you choose.

An annual leasehold management fee will be payable directly to Sage along with your service charge, this is £195 per annum, which increases each year with inflation. The terms are clearly set out in your lease.

The term “Shared Ownership” refers to the fact that you are acquiring a percentage share of the home, with Sage Homes owning the remaining percentage of the unacquired share. During the term of the lease you are able to live in the home as if you own it outright (subject to the terms of the lease). Whilst you are welcome to purchase a Countryside Home with another person, this is not a requirement of the Home Stepper Shared Ownership scheme. If you are purchasing the property with another person then your combined household income must not exceed £80,000 (£90,000 in London).

Sage Homes will provide buildings insurance and payment for insurance will be included within the service charges, your IFA will be able to tell you how much this will be. You will need to arrange your own contents insurance separately.

You will be able to sell your home at any time. You will need to firstly notify Sage Homes that you wish to sell the property, Sage Homes will then arrange an independent RICS valuation to establish the sale value of your home. The purchaser(s) will need to meet the Home Stepper eligibility criteria. Sage Homes then have 4 weeks from receipt of your intention to sell notice to nominate a purchaser(s) (Sage Homes nominee) so that other people can benefit from the scheme.

If a Sage Homes nominee cannot be found to purchase your home, or if one is found, but fails to exchange contracts with you within 12 weeks of your solicitor issuing the draft sale contract (and related sale documentation), you are then able to sell your home on the open market. If you do so, on completion of the sale you must repay to Sage Homes, the market value of the unacquired percentage share (the percentage share Sage Homes owned, prior to the sale).

You will also need to pay the fees of the process including the valuation, Sage’s fee of 1% of the full market price (to advertise the property for sale), legal fees and admin fees.

Yes, you will be required to pay stamp duty, this will be based on the percentage share of the home you are purchasing, subject to any allowances which may be offset against the Stamp Duty payable. Please ask your solicitor to calculate this for you.

All Shared Ownership customers that purchase a Countryside Home under the Home Stepper scheme are responsible for completing and/or paying for repair works that are not covered by the Countryside Homes two-year customer service warranty or the NHBC’s 10-year building warranty.

If your chosen home is sold with white goods such as a fridge and washing machine, each of these items will be covered by an individual guarantee which will be provided to you on legal completion.

Yes, you can decorate your new home as you like. However, if you wish to make any significant alterations to your home, such as an extension, you will need to seek permission from Sage Homes/Countryside Homes and obtain any relevant planning permission. The precise terms of what alterations you can and cannot make to your home will be set out in the documentation provided.

Sage Homes as the provider of the Home Stepper scheme will need to provide consent for you to keep pets at the property and you will need to contact them directly.

Whereas most Shared Ownership leases do not allow you to fully sublet your home, Sage Homes will consider granting permission for you to take a lodger on a case-by-case basis, you would need to contact Sage directly in this regard.

Yes, it is usual for Landlords of leasehold properties to be notified of your mortgage lender as the lender will register a Legal Charge on the title to the property. Sage will need to approve your mortgage offer and there is a charge of £50 (+VAT) for this process. In addition, on legal completion Sage will need to be served a Notice of Charge (Notice of your mortgage lender) in accordance with the terms set out in the Shared Ownership lease, the Notice of Charge fee is £75 (+VAT). The solicitor acting for you in relation to your purchase of the property will include these fees in your completion statement and these will be payable on the day of completion. If you are buying your share without a mortgage then neither of these fees will apply.

Shared ownership properties are not covered under the Consumer Code or NHQC (New Homes Quality Code).