How to Buy: A Step-By-Step Guide

Register Your Interest

Browse through the available properties on our website [here].  When you see a property you’re interested in, click on the Register Your Interest button and complete an application for the property.

Our Pre-Sales team will assess your application to make sure you meet the individual affordability and eligibility requirements for the property and the shared ownership scheme.  If we have any queries about your application, we’ll send you an email and may ask you to provide some additional information.  It’s really important to get this part right because otherwise you could be applying for and viewing properties that you’re either not eligible for, or wouldn’t be able to get a mortgage for.

TIP: Save time by only registering your interest in properties you can afford.  Every property listing has a guideline minimum income and a guideline minimum deposit, based on a 25 year repayment mortgage at the current average available interest rate, 10% deposit and no debt. If you’re an older buyer (over 45) you may need more a higher income and/or a higher deposit to reflect the shorter mortgage terms available.

Book Your Viewing

How soon we can offer you a viewing will depend on many factors, including the length of time a property has been on the market or the type of shared ownership scheme it is.  For example, some properties have a minimum marketing period and others have a local priority which means we have to give local applicants a chance to apply first.  Whatever the particular scheme, we’ll send you an invitation to view the property as soon as we can.  Viewings will either be an ‘open-house’ style format with one of our viewing hosts, where you’ll be able to book your individual viewing slot online or alternatively one of our team will contact you to book an individual viewing, where the property owner will show you around.

View The Property

When you have a viewing appointment, we ask that you attend on time.  At a busy ‘open-house’ style viewings, missing your viewing slot may mean you won’t be able to view the property all.  If you’re meeting the seller at the property, turning up late isn’t a great first impression. Most importantly though, if you can’t make it, or need to cancel your appointment please let us know as soon as possible. There almost certainly won’t be another opportunity to view the property before you need to decide whether you would like to buy it, so taking photos or even a video walkthrough that you can refer back to after the viewing is a good idea but always ask permission from the viewing host or the property owner first and never post photos of the property online.

TIP: Time can sometimes be short at viewings so make the most of it by leaving any questions you have until the end.  You can always email your questions to us after the viewing but you won’t have another opportunity to view before you need to decide whether you want to proceed

After The Viewing

After the viewing we’ll email you an ‘Offer to Purchase’ form via our digital signature platform.  This form is for you to let us know that you would like to purchase the property and you would like us to consider your application.  The form contains important information about the shared ownership buying process, so you should read it carefully and only sign the form if you intend to proceed with the purchase if prioritised.

NOTE: Your opportunity to complete the ‘Offer to Purchase’ will expire approximately 48 hours after the viewing, so please don’t delay.  Any additional questions you have should be sent to info@urbanmoves.com as soon as possible after the viewing.  There will not be another opportunity to complete the Offer to Purchase after the deadline has passed.

Prioritisation

If we receive more than one ‘Offer to Purchase’, we’ll have to prioritise applications.  This is because affordable housing isn’t open to offers in the same way that an open market sale is and it can’t just be sold to the highest bidder.  The way applications are prioritised can depend on the housing association, Local Authority or even the individual property, but in general it will favour applicants living or working in the same Borough Council as the property. We’ll let you know your ‘Priority Position’ on the next working day after the ‘Offer to Purchase’ deadline.

Offer Letter

If you’re lucky enough to be Priority Position 1, you’ll receive an email from us outlining the next steps.  You’ll be asked to confirm your intention to proceed and to pay the application administration fee, which is refundable when you complete the purchase.

Financial Assessment

Your application for Shared Ownership requires you to undertake a detailed financial assessment with our nominated financial assessor.  This is a mandatory assessment but we don’t carry out a ‘hard search’ so it won’t show up on you credit file.  It’s a really important part of the application because the housing association won’t approve your application unless we can demonstrate that the property is affordable to you on a long term basis and that you are likely to obtain the necessary mortgage.

TIP: You can save yourself a lot of time here by making sure you are properly prepared.  The financial assessor will want to see your full credit report, passport or driving licence, your last three months bank statements and payslips and proof of your deposit (including gifted deposits), so make sure you have as much of this as possible, ready to send by email.

Application Approval

When the financial assessment is complete, we’ll send your application to the housing association for approval.  This can sometimes take a few days while they check through all the paperwork, so please be patient and don’t worry; 99% of all the applications we put forward are approved and we’ll let you know the moment we hear back.

Choose a Solicitor and a Mortgage Broker

While you wait for the housing association to approve your application, it’s a good time to think about which solicitor and mortgage broker to use.  We’ll ask you to complete a form to provide us with the contact details of your intended solicitor and mortgage broker.

TIP: We recommend that you choose a solicitor from our approved panel [here] because shared ownership conveyancing requires specialist knowledge and our panel solicitors have proven expertise in the field.  You will have already spoken to our financial assessor and provided them with much of the documentation required to submit your mortgage application, so we recommend you also speak to them about your mortgage options.

Memorandum of Sale

Now you have given us your solicitor’s and mortgage broker’s details, your Memorandum of Sale can be prepared.  This is an important document that introduces your solicitor to the seller’s and housing association’s solicitors.  The memorandum will usually be issued by Urban Moves but if the housing association is ‘running the sale’ they will issue their own.

Mortgage Application

You’ll need to apply for your mortgage as soon as the memorandum of sale has been issued.  Your mortgage broker will help you find the right mortgage for you. The bank or lender will arrange for a surveyor to inspect the property before passing your application to the underwriters for approval.  When the mortgage offer is issued, you can request another viewing of the property so you can take any measurements you need and start planning for the move

Conveyancing

You should instruct you solicitor as soon as you receive your memorandum of sale. Conveyancing is often a long and complicated process so it’s really important not to delay this stage. Some people think it’s a good idea to delay the conveyancing until their mortgage offer is issued.  This is absolutely not recommended and could seriously jeopardise your purchase because the sellers will usually have an onward purchase and if conveyancing is delayed, it may in turn jeopardise their onward purchase.

When your solicitor has completed their conveyancing, they will ‘report’ to you with their conclusions and you can then agree dates for Exchange of Contracts and Completion of Sale.

Exchange of Contracts

To allow your solicitor to exchange contracts with the seller’s solicitor, you’ll first need to transfer your deposit money to them.  This will usually be a minimum of 10% of the purchase price but you solicitor will advise you of the exact amount.

TIP: Don’t forget to let us know when you’ve exchanged contracts so that we can arrange to refund the administration fee in time for completion day.

Completion

When your solicitor has agreed a completion date, you’ll need to make sure they also agree on handover arrangements with the seller.  Whilst the completion date can be agreed in advance, the exact time of completion cannot but your solicitor will inform you when completion has taken place.

TIP: On the day of completion, you will normally meet the seller at the property so that they can give you the keys to your new home and take meter readings together, which you can pass on to your utility supplier. We recommend you take the day off work, so you’re ready to go at short notice.