Staircasing FAQs and myth busting

There are some extra expenses involved, such as legal fees and valuations. However, as the value of your home increases, the greater share you own, the greater your equity will be.

Many believe that staircasing isn’t possible during a fixed mortgage term, however this isn’t always the case. Consult your lender or mortgage advisor to understand more about your terms and conditions.

The value of your additional share is based on an independent valuation of your home at the time you choose to staircase.

When you decide to staircase, you buy additional shares at the current market value of the property. You will need to arrange the valuation with a RICS registered surveyor. They will visit your home and provide a report that will detail how much your property is worth, this is called the market value. The cost of shares is calculated on the market value of your home.

You should notify the valuer of any improvements you have carried out with our written permission.  The valuer should disregard these improvements when considering the valuation figure if you are staircasing to 100%.

Improvements such as newly fitted kitchen, bathroom, central heating, loft conversion, double-glazing and conservatories will be considered providing consent was given by your landlord. General repairs, maintenance or redecoration are not considered to be improvements.

The valuation is valid for three months. If you don’t complete the staircasing within this timescale an updated valuation will be required and an additional charge may apply.

Yes, you can still buy more shares if you have fallen behind on paying your rent, but you will have to pay off your arrears as part of the purchase.

As well as the valuation fee and our administration fee, you will be responsible for your solicitor’s costs, mortgage arrangement/valuation fee (if applicable) and possibly stamp duty.

Yes. As this is a purchase of property a solicitor should handle the legal aspects of the transaction. We recommend appointing one with experience in Shared Ownership and staircasing to make the process as smooth as possible. 

Yes. As you increase your share, the percentage of rent you pay decreases in line with the additional share purchased. If you staircase to 100%, you’ll no longer pay any rent.

If your home is transferring to a freehold tenure you will need to arrange your own buildings insurance. Any service charge is still likely to be payable. However, if your home is to remain leasehold, your buildings insurance and service charge will remain unaffected.

You can buy additional shares in your home whenever you are in a position to purchase more shares.

In most cases, the lease permits staircasing to 100% unless restrictions apply by the lease terms and/or planning conditions.

Restrictions on staircasing are determined by the individual leases. This includes rural restricted staircasing schemes, protected area schemes, and fixed equity schemes, as no additional shares may be purchased.

Most leases permit staircasing in at most three stages until the maximum % share owned is reached. However, Bromford is happy to review requests to purchase additional shares in more than three stages where it can be demonstrated this is affordable for the shared owner.

Whilst the best time to purchase more shares is a personal decision, it’s often a good idea to consider it when you are looking to re-mortgage your home, for instance at the end of a fixed-term deal. Factoring it in at this point means you probably won’t have to pay additional redemption fees that can be associated with changing your mortgage part way through an agreement.

Our customers often buy additional shares or buy their shared ownership home outright when their circumstances change. This could be through inheritance, a change of job that enables you to secure additional funds through re-mortgaging or you may have managed to save some money over time and want to use your savings to purchase more shares.

Affordability is one of the biggest considerations when purchasing additional shares, so you do need to make sure your finances are in place before you contact us. If you are purchasing a proportion of the remaining shares, you will need to email a copy of your mortgage offer along with your valuation.

Your lease will state the minimum amount you can purchase at one time however, we’re flexible and are happy to work with you to help you purchase the amount you require.

There are several costs to consider when purchasing more shares:

Valuation fees – The cost of valuation depends on several considerations including the size and location of your home. Recent research suggests a survey can cost anything between £290 - £1390 and you pay this fee directly to the surveyor.

Solicitors’ fees – There is a cost associated with instructing a solicitor to act on your behalf. This fee is paid directly to the solicitor.

Mortgage fee – If you are re-mortgaging to pay for additional shares, your lender is likely to charge a fee for the product. If you are mid-way through a mortgage fixed term there might also be a redemption fee. So, it’s definitely worth checking on all of this before you get started.

If you become a freeholder by purchasing 100% of the shares in your house you will no longer pay rent, However,  you will continue to pay service charges if it was previously payable  on your property.

If you purchase an apartment outright by purchasing the remaining shares, you will no longer pay rent but will continue to pay service charge.

We will provide you with this information when we write to confirm whether you can purchase additional shares.

If you purchase all the remaining shares in your house so that you own it outright, you will be responsible for securing buildings insurance for the property.  If you are purchasing an apartment, your responsibilities relating to Buildings Insurance will not change.

Occasionally there is a ‘buy-back’ clause in the lease agreement, however for the majority of homes Bromford will not buy the shares back.