First Home Scheme and Shared Ownership
Schemes like Shared Ownership and the First Homes Scheme can be a real help onto the property ladder, but they come with more paperwork and more rules than a standard purchase. We’ll guide you through it.
What will it cost?
Shared Ownership and similar schemes such as the First Homes Scheme are more complex than a standard sale or purchase, and our fee scale reflects that. Work is charged at an hourly rate, based on an assessment of the likely number of hours involved.
Fees for Shared Ownership and First Homes Scheme transactions start at £1,700 plus VAT. On average, we’d expect these to cost between £1,700 and £2,000 plus VAT, though more complex matters will cost more.
Estimate the cost of your sale
Answer a few short questions and we will show you an approximate cost for selling your property, with no obligation.
What work is included?
Every transaction is different, but in general you can expect our work to include:
- Taking your initial instructions and advising you on the various aspects
- Receiving contract documents, checking through them and asking further questions as needed
- Making searches and checking the results
- Receiving a mortgage offer
- Reporting to you on all our investigations and any mortgage
- Getting your signature on the documentation
- Exchanging contracts
- Working out the completion figures, requesting funds and carrying out final searches
- Completing, then paying any Stamp Duty Land Tax and registering your property at the Land Registry
Is there anything not included?
Our costs cover the work usually needed to complete a Shared Ownership or First Homes Scheme purchase. Other elements, such as arranging removals or updating your Will, aren’t included. If you need extra legal services (for example, a Declaration of Trust setting out shares of ownership), we’ll charge for those separately. You can read about the other residential property services we offer on our Residential Conveyancing page.
How long will it take?
Plenty of things affect the speed, especially the chain of buyers and sellers. These transactions typically take 12 to 16 weeks to completion, though this can vary.
Scheme purchases come with extra rules to follow, and we’ll deal with each one before it can hold up your move.
Some buyers are using a First Homes discount on their first place. Others are buying a share through a housing association, with the option to buy more later. Whichever route you’re taking, we’ll make sure the scheme’s requirements are met and explain what they mean for you.
If you’re not sure which of these fits your situation, call us, and we’ll point you in the right direction.
