Shared Ownership (part-buy, part-rent)
An affordable way for first-time buyers get on to the property ladder.
You can buy a share in a new, refurbished or previously owned home, normally with the help of a mortgage, and you pay a subsidised rent on the share retained by Metropolitan.
Because you only have to raise a mortgage deposit for your share (as opposed to the full market value of your home), Shared Ownership makes buying more affordable. Shared Ownership also keeps your ongoing monthly housing costs below what you would pay if you had bought the same property outright or rented it privately.
In the future you can increase the share you own by buying some or all of the remaining share in your Shared Ownership home (this is known as staircasing).
In London, you will need to apply for Shared Ownership from Metropolitan by completing the online application at www.homematch.org.uk, outside of London you apply for HomeBuy Shared Ownership from Metropolitan through your local HomeBuy Agent, you can find out who your local HomeBuy Agent is by visiting www.homebuy.co.uk.
Pre-Owned Homes (Resales)
Pre-Owned (also known as Resale) homes offer you the opportunity to buy a previously owned Shared Ownership home on a part-buy, part-rent basis. Because these are usually older homes, pre-owned homes offer the chance to buy from a wide selection of property types and locations in established communities.
FirstBuy - Equity Loan product
FirstBuy enables you to buy a new home directly from a housing developer. You are required to buy a minimum of 80% of the property value and receive an equity loan for the remaining amount. There is nothing to pay on the loan for the first five years. From year six you will need to pay a monthly fee of 1.75% per annum that will increase each April by RPI plus 1%. However, if you pay back the loan within five years: there will be no fee to pay. FirstBuy has been replaced by Help to Buy, as of April 1st, 2013.
Help to Buy
Help to Buy works on the same terms as FirstBuy but is not exclusive just to first-time buyers (those who have outgrown their current home and are otherwise eligible can apply provided they have sold/ vacated their current home upon completion) and has a higher maximum property price cap of £600,000, it also has no maximum income cap. From January 1st, 2014, Help to Buy will provide a mortgage guarantee for those wanting to buy a new or existing home through the scheme.
Further information on Help to Buy can be found in the Help to Buy Buyer's Guide downloadable from this page. All schemes are subject to availability of funding and our eligibility criteria. More detailed information on each scheme will be provided later in the application process.