Shared ownership

In order to start your journey with Mission Housing, you will need to meet our criteria:

• Applicants should have a total household income that is below £80,000 (or £90,000 within a London Borough).

• Applicants and their supporting church/mission/ministry must have a basis of faith that meets with the Mission Housing’s ethos for extending the Kingdom of God.

• Applicants must be able to show that their church/mission/ministry actively supports their application for housing.

• Mission should include the sharing of the good news of Jesus, expressed through practical, artistic, musical and spiritual expressions of God’s love.

• The church/mission/ministry should be able to demonstrate a willingness to work with other churches/missions/ministries in the local area.

• Applicants must also be able to look after their finances well.

• Any applicant will normally need to be either a UK citizen or have Indefinite Leave to Remain.

 If you’re interested in pursuing shared ownership with Mission Housing, begin by completing our enquiry form. We’ll then be in touch for an initial phone call. If after that we think you meet our criteria and you would like to proceed, we’ll ask you to complete an application form – this enables us to find out much more about your ministry, your housing requirements, and your finances – so we can make decisions on suitability and affordability.

If from your application form, we can see that shared ownership with Mission Housing might be a possibility for you, we’ll arrange a time for an interview with a couple of our staff team. This is another great opportunity for you to ask questions. 

If together we decide to progress your application a recommendation will be made to our Board, who make the final decision to support your application or suggest alternative routes.

If the Board support your application, we will start working with you on your campaign to raise the finances.

All this might sound pretty daunting! It has to be rigorous because our resources are limited and our charitable status, and we have to adhere to strict regulations and guidelines surrounding the provision of affordable housing and charitable finances. However, we aim for the process to be a supportive one, where we get to know you, and you get to know us.

We very much see Mission Housing as a community – and we, and you, need to decide whether we’re a good fit! Our board meet once every two months, and therefore, we can usually move things forward at a reasonable pace.

As we progress through the application process, we will establish how much you are going to be able to borrow with a mortgage (and you will need a cash deposit of 10% of that mortgage) and how much a property is likely to cost in the area you work. We will then know how much capital we need to help you raise through loans.

We then work with you on a loan-raising campaign to develop a plan to ask people to lend money to enable a purchase. We’ll then be with you every step of the way as you loan-raise! We’re more than happy for you to put your friends and family in touch with us, so we can talk through the details with them. We are happy to speak at church services and attend Zoom – or face-to-face – meetings with possible lenders. We also regularly bring together other people in a similar position to you, so you can support one another, learn from one another, and learn from experts.

Loans are typically between £5,000 and £250,000 for a minimum of five years – with an option to renew or be repaid at the end of the loan term. It is extremely beneficial to all concerned for the loans to be as long term as possible. There are two types of loans:

Equity Loan: The lenders capital is backed by equity in the property. At the end of the loan term, they have the prospect of a capital gain linked to the increase in the value of the property. However, if the value of the property falls, they could receive less back than you put in.

Fixed-Rate Loan: They can choose interest-free or with interest typically between 0.5 and 2% - depending on the amount and term of the loan. (The interest is added to your rent payment on the portion you do not own). At the end of the loan term, they’ll receive back their original capital investment.

Once you have enough loans pledged, and a mortgage agreed in principle along with your deposit (this can take a number of months), you can start looking at properties. It’s best to keep us in the loop during the process, as we can be on hand to answer your questions and point out things to watch out for. When you’re ready to put in an offer, check with us first to ensure you have the finances in place, and then if everything sounds in order, we’ll encourage you to go ahead. You can then connect us to the estate agent, and we can send them what they need from us including a letter of comfort and proof of funds.

Mission Housing and you both need to appoint independent solicitors. You can choose your own solicitors, but make sure you choose a solicitor who has experience of shared ownerships (we have firms we can recommend). You are responsible for paying your solicitor fees and stamp duty (see FAQ on stamp duty for more details).

As part of the process, you will need to get a survey done – your mortgage provider is likely to organise this. This will need to be either a ‘homebuyer report’ or ‘building survey’ depending on the age of the property and if there are any specific concerns. You will need to pay for this.

The process of buying a home is well known to be stressful – but we’ll be with you every step of the way. We’re doing this all the time, so hopefully, that will put your mind at ease, and it certainly means that most questions you have, we’ll be able to answer.

With shared ownership, Mission Housing will own the ‘title deed’ and we will then grant you a shared ownership lease. This is the standard arrangement for all shared-ownership providers.

There will be much celebration by you – and us – on the day you move in! It’s our prayer – and reason for existing – that your home will be an amazing base for your ministry.

As a shared owner, you are responsible for the house – that means all maintenance is your responsibility, and if it’s a leasehold property, you’ll need to pay things like ground rent, services charges, and major works. It’s also important that you don’t do anything which devalues the property – for example, change it from a three-bedroom to a two-bedroom home!

If the property is freehold it will be part of our buildings insurance policy that insures all our shared-ownership properties. We will then invoice you for this on a cost basis annually.

Each month, as well as your mortgage payment, you will also pay rent to Mission Housing on the part of the house you don’t own. This rent includes the interest that Mission Housing will need to pay lending and a percentage to enable Mission Housing to cover all our costs. The aim is to ensure that the combination of your monthly mortgage and rent payments are affordable.

For more information – for example, what happens if you decide to do a loft conversation, want to increase the share of the property that you own, or what happens when you need to sell, look at our FAQs.