Staircasing: buying more of your home
Once you’ve bought your first share in a shared ownership home, you may have the option to buy more shares over time. This is called staircasing, and it can be done in stages or up to full ownership, depending on your lease.
What is staircasing?
There are two types of staircasing:
Interim staircasing – when you buy additional shares in your home, but than 100%.
Final staircasing – when you staircase to 100% ownership of your home.
There’s no obligation to staircase, and you can do it as many times as your lease allows. The purchase price of more shares is based on the current market value of your home, determined by an independent Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) qualified surveyor.
If you’ve made home improvements, any value added from those won’t be included in the valuation (Provided you have obtained our formal consent where applicable).
Benefits of staircasing
There are several great reasons people choose to staircase:
Reduce your rent – The more of your home you own, the less rent you pay. At 100%, you pay no rent at all.
Increase your share of any profit – If your home goes up in value, owning more means you’ll get more when you sell.
If you staircase to 100%:
- You can sell your home on the open market
- You can choose your own estate agent
- You’re not limited to selling to affordable housing applicants
- You don’t need a RICS valuation to sellYou don't have to staircase to 100% - You can buy more shares in your home, which will reduce your rent, without staircasing to 100%.
Benefits of staircasing
There are several great reasons people choose to staircase:
Reduce your rent – The more of your home you own, the less rent you pay. At 100%, you pay no rent at all.
Increase your share of any profit – If your home goes up in value, owning more means you’ll get more when you sell.
If you staircase to 100%:
- You can sell your home on the open market
- You can choose your own estate agent
- You’re not limited to selling to affordable housing applicants
- You don’t need a RICS valuation to sellYou don't have to staircase to 100% - You can buy more shares in your home, which will reduce your rent, without staircasing to 100%.
There's more
Keen to find out more?
Whether you’d like to book a viewing or simply have a quick introductory chat, our helpful advisory team would love to hear from you.