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Selling your shared ownership home

You can sell your shared ownership home at any time.

Thinking about moving?

Selling a shared ownership home is similar to selling any other property, but there are some extra steps to follow. These will depend on how much of your home you own and the terms of your lease.

Contact us before arranging a valuation or putting your home on the market. We will check your lease, explain your selling options and guide you through what happens next.

Email shared.ownership@whgrp.co.uk

Your options for selling

Sell the share you currently own

If you own less than 100%, you can usually sell your existing share to another shared ownership buyer.

For example, if you own 40% of your home, the new buyer would normally buy that 40% share. They would then pay rent to whg on the remaining 60%.

The buyer will need to meet the eligibility and affordability requirements for shared ownership. whg must approve the buyer before the sale can proceed.

Sell 100% of your home

Depending on your lease, you may be able to sell your home at its full market value, even if you do not currently own 100%.

This is known as simultaneous or back-to-back staircasing. You buy the remaining shares from whg at the same time as selling the whole home to your buyer.

Your solicitor arranges both transactions so that they complete together. This can open your home to buyers who are not looking for shared ownership, but the legal process and costs may be higher.

We will check whether your lease allows this and explain what would be involved.

If you already own 100%

If you have staircased to 100%, you can usually sell your home on the open market through an estate agent.

You should still contact us before starting the sale. Depending on the type of property and your lease, your solicitor may need information from whg and there may be service charges, estate charges or other legal requirements to deal with.

How much could you receive?

If you sell your existing share, the value of that share will be based on the current market value of your whole home.

For example, imagine:

your home is valued at £200,000
you own a 40% share
your share is therefore valued at £80,000.

From the money you receive, you will normally need to repay your outstanding mortgage and pay your selling costs.

If your home has increased in value since you bought it, the value of your share may also have increased. If its value has fallen, your share may be worth less than you originally paid.

How the selling process works

1. Contact whg

Get in touch before arranging a valuation, appointing an estate agent or marketing your home.

Email shared.ownership@whgrp.co.uk

2. Decide how you want to sell

We will explain whether you can:

sell the share you currently own
staircase to 100% and sell the whole home
consider either option.

3. Arrange an independent valuation

In most cases, you will need an independent valuation completed by a surveyor registered with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, commonly known as RICS.This is then used to calculate the value of the share you are selling.

You will be responsible for paying the valuation fee.

4. Receive your resale information

Once the valuation and any required information have been received, we will confirm what you need to do next.

Do not advertise your home until whg has confirmed that you can proceed.

6. Viewings take place

You may need to make your home available for photographs and viewings.

You remain responsible for looking after your home throughout the sale.

7. A buyer is found

If you are selling your existing share, the buyer must meet the eligibility and affordability requirements for shared ownership.

whg will assess and approve the buyer before the legal process begins.

You should not agree a private sale or accept money directly from a prospective buyer without speaking to whg.

9. Appoint a solicitor

You will need to appoint a solicitor or licensed conveyancer to deal with the legal work.

Shared ownership sales can be more complicated than standard property sales, so it is helpful to choose someone with experience of shared ownership resales.

10. Exchange and completion

When all legal enquiries have been answered and everyone is ready to proceed, contracts will be exchanged and a completion date will be agreed.