Buying a Home with us

Hellens Residential are committed to providing low cost home ownership options to help our customers get on the housing ladder. Buying a home through one of our schemes means that you will need a smaller deposit and mortgage.

Hellens Residential work collaboratively with Metro Finance who are a specialist finance company dealing with mortgages available on the market with high street lenders amongst others for Discount for Sale properties. If you are interested in the one of our Home Ownership schemes then we can put you in direct contact to discuss your options further.

We have a number of brand-new homes available for sale across the North of England.  Please look at Find a Home to Buy for all available homes. If you would like any further information then please don’t hesitate to contact us. The schemes we offer at Hellens Residential are outlined below:

Discount Sale

Discount Sale is an affordable housing product supported by the government. Housebuilders on new developments have to build a certain number of homes available as affordable homes. These can be to Rent, for Shared Ownership or Discount Sale.

Discount Sale is where the buyer purchases 100% of the property including the freehold but at a % discount to Market Value. This % is dictated by the Local Authority.

There is a restriction on the title of the property that if the purchaser was to sell on their property in the future then they would need to get it valued at the point of sale then sell it on at the same % discount for which they purchased it. This applies to all future buyers to ensure the property is affordable in perpetuity.

Key features of Discount Sale

• The price quoted is the purchase price you will have to pay.
• You own your home (including the freehold) from Day One.
• There are no further payments to make to Hellens Residential.
• When / If you sell your home in the future you must sell it on at the same discount to market value at which you purchased it.

Are you Eligible?

• You must have a household income of less than £80,000 per annum.
• Have a deposit for the property.
• Be in employment and qualify for a mortgage.
• Be aged over 18 and have a bank, Post Office or building society account.
• Have savings or equity of less than £150,000 after you have purchased the home.

Shared Equity

This is where the purchaser owns their home on Day one but they only pay for part of the equity initially. This % varies but is usually between 60% – 80% equity purchased on Day one. It is a usually a freehold purchase. Please note apartments are leasehold.

The purchaser would fund the initial equity amount by way of a deposit and mortgage. The remaining equity is held by Hellens Residential as a second charge for a time period (this is usually repayable on the 10^th anniversary after purchase of the initial equity).

The equity loaned to the purchaser by Hellens Residential is then redeemed at end of the second charge period or when they sell the property (the earlier of the two events). The amount repayable to Hellens Residential is interest free and fixed at the initial purchase price. The equity loan needs to repaid in one lump sum.

With Shared Equity when it comes to resale there are no affordable home restrictions on the title. The seller would put their property on the market at full market value. From the sales proceeds received they would first repay their mortgage, second Hellens Residential and any remaining funds they would retain.

Shared Ownership

With shared ownership you are able to buy a designated share in your own home (usually between 25% and 75%) on a long leasehold arrangement. There is rent to pay on the share of the home that you do not own to Hellens Residential.  You can buy additional shares of the home while you are living there; this is known as ‘staircasing’.

Buying more shares

You can buy more of your home after you become the owner. This is known as ‘staircasing’.

The cost of your new share will depend on how much your home is worth when you want to buy the share.

It will cost:

• More than your first share if property prices in your area have gone up.
• Less than your first share if property prices in your area have gone down.

Hellens Residential will get your property valued at the point at which you wish to purchase more shares and let you know the cost of your new share. You will have to pay the valuer’s fee.

Selling your home

If you own a share of your home, then Hellens Residential has the right to buy it first. This is known as ‘first refusal’. Hellens Residential also has the right to find a buyer for your home should we not wish to purchase it.

If you own 100% of your home, you can sell it yourself on the open market.

Are you eligible?

You can buy a home through Shared Ownership if your household earns £80,000 a year or less and any of the following apply:

• You’re a first-time buyer.
• You used to own a home, but can’t afford to buy one now due to finances.
• You’re an existing shared owner.