Help with buying a home

Mortgages

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If you wish to buy a home you may be able to borrow money to do this. This is called a mortgage. The loan is for a fixed period, called a term and you have to pay interest on the loan. If you do not keep up the agreed repayments, the lender can take possession of the property. There are several types of mortgages available, the most common ones are described below:

• Repayment mortgage - This is a mortgage in which the capital borrowed is repaid gradually over the period of the loan. The capital is paid in monthly instalments together with an amount of interest. The amount of capital which is repaid gradually increases over the years while the amount of interest goes down.
  
• Interest only mortgage - With this type of mortgage, you pay interest on the loan in monthly instalments to the lender. Instead of repaying the loan each month, you pay into a long-term investment or savings plan which should grow enough to clear the loan at the end of the mortgage term. However, if it doesn't grow as planned, you will have a shortfall and you will need to think about ways of making this up.
  
• Islamic mortgage - With an Islamic mortgage, none of the monthly payments includes interest. Instead, the lender makes a charge for lending you the capital to buy your property which can be recovered in one of a number of different ways, for example, by charging you rent.

A mortgage could be available from a number of different sources. Some of the available options are:-

• building societies
• banks
• insurance companies. They only provide endowment mortgages
• large building companies might arrange mortgages on their own new-build homes
• finance houses
• specialised mortgage companies

To ensure you get the best deals when applying for mortgages, it is worth checking websites such as www.comparethemarket.com/mortgages and www.moneysupermarket.com/mortgages  that search the whole market including top mortgage providers like C&G, Abbey, Nationwide and Chelsea Building Society for free.

Shared ownership

Shared Ownership is also called "New Build HomeBuy" and "part rent and part buy". Under this scheme, a Housing Association buys a property or builds a property and then sells a share of the property. The initial share that is sold is typically 50% although lower shares are now being offered. The shared owner pays rent on the share that the Housing Association owns. After a set period you can choose to increase the amount of the property that you own, and you can even choose to buy all of the share that the Housing Association owns. The more of the property that you own the less rent you will pay.

Some properties may have a restriction which means you will not be able to buy 100% of the property, but this will be made clear before a property is sold.

Are you eligible?

You will be eligible for shared ownership if:

• you are in housing need, and therefore eligible to join our housing register
  AND
• the property you are looking for will be your main residence
• you have equity or earned income, but cannot afford to buy a property for sale on the open market that meets your needs

If you do not currently live in North Norfolk, you may still be considered for our schemes, but households who live in North Norfolk will be given priority for HomeBuy and shared ownership schemes in North Norfolk.

Orbit are the HomeBuy agents for this area. They provide a one-stop-shop for people interested in purchasing an affordable home with all the available properties in the Norfolk and Suffolk area, and they can help you to work out what properties you can afford.  More information on shared ownership, and other prodis available on their website - visit www.orbitHomeBuyagents.co.uk - or you can call Orbit on 03458 50 20 50.

For further information about shared ownership properties in North Norfolk, please contact the Enabling Team 01263 516300.

Other low-cost home ownership products

Shared ownership properties are just one of a range of low-cost home ownership products developed to make home ownership more affordable, and help you get on the property ladder.  If you would like to discuss your eligibility for these schemes, contact Orbit First Step.  They can help give you details of other low-cost home ownership schemes that you may be eligible for.