Important Information for applicants preamble text – no heading needed as button leads straight into this
This is a guide to the buying process of a Soha Shared Ownership property. It sets out the eligibility and affordability checking process, highlights any restrictions that might affect one of our properties and explains the policies that we have that apply.
It will also explain who manages each section of the process and who to contact should you have any questions or concerns.
Eligibility and Affordability Assessment
Soha uses external assessors, who specialise in Shared Ownership purchases, to qualify anyone wishing to buy one of our properties. These advisors will assess your eligibility for the product and, if you qualify for Shared Ownership, will check the affordability of the home you have shown interest in.
Eligibility
To apply for a Shared Ownership home, you must:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Not own another home (or be able to complete a sale on it simultaneously)
- Not have household income in excess of £80,000
- Not have the ability to buy a property that fits your needs on the open market
- Have suitable credit history
In addition, there may be local rules that apply to a property such as the need to have a local connection to the parish or village (Designated Protected Area Leases) or be over a certain age (Older Person Shared Ownership Leases).
Affordability
Our assessor will complete two stages of assessment. The first stage is to check your affordability based on the information that you provide, taking into account your personal information, income, outgoings and credit history.
The next stage is to complete a full assessment with a regulated specialist mortgage advisor. They will require documents such as:
- Credit report
- Passport or photocard driving licence
- Payslips
- Bank statements
- Council Tax or utility bill
- Proof of deposit
- Credit card statements
- Proof of benefits
- Evidence of maintenance payments
They will also check your circumstances against Soha’s own policies. Soha assesses all applicants carefully to try and ensure that buying a property is affordable for them now, and in the future. In addition to the standard affordability criteria, Soha also requires:
- A minimum of 5% deposit to be put down (100% mortgages are not accepted)
- Satisfactory Occupancy Levels – the number of people living in the property should not exceed the maximum number of people the property was designed for. Please see our Household Size Policy
- A satisfactory credit history – please refer to our Adverse Policy
- Sufficient spare income to provide a safety net – please see our Surplus Income Policy
As Soha often gets multiple enquiries for each new build property released, we have a clear policy on who is offered each property. Please see our First Come, First Served Policy, which will be followed for all new build property allocations.
Once this stage is completed, the assessor will confirm whether you qualify for Shared Ownership and, if you are interested in a particular property, what the optimum percentage is that you can afford.
Please note that this assessment does not constitute mortgage advice and does not guarantee the availability of a mortgage.
If a Shared Ownership applicant does not meet one or more of the eligibility criteria for the Shared Ownership scheme, is unable to meet the requirements of the affordability assessment, is unable to meet one or more of the provider’s policies in this regard, or if they are unwilling to provide the required information or documentation, their application will likely be declined.
If a Shared Ownership applicant wishes to purchase a different share level, either higher or lower, to that deemed affordable by their affordability assessment without providing a justifiable rationale or reason why, Soha can either offer a different share level to that which the applicant would prefer, or decline the application.
Responsibility
The table below shows the various elements of the Shared Ownership home buying process, and which organisation is responsible for each.
| Application/Assessment Element | Responsible Organisation |
|---|---|
| Applicant eligibility and prioritisation | Soha |
| Financial assessment of affordability | Mortgage broker/advisor (on behalf of Shared Ownership provider) |
| Decision to accept or decline an application and at what share level | Soha |
| Application of provider specific policies | Soha |
| Mortgage advice (if requested) | Mortgage broker/advisor (acting under their own FCA organisation) |
| Complaints regarding application or share decision | Soha |
| Complaint regarding mortgage advice | Mortgage broker’s/Advisor’s own complaints procedure |