Mortgage Advisers, Solicitors & Conveyancers

• Check the information on your application form is correct and assess whether you can afford to buy.
• Agree the percentage share that you can purchase based on income, savings and outstanding credit commitments you declare (please note: this is based on government guidelines and not necessarily what a lender would be willing to lend).
• Give you information about choosing the right mortgage for you.

So that we can help you buy your new home as quickly as possible, it's best to start gathering the information a mortgage adviser will need as soon as possible:

• Your last three months payslips (please bring three months’ worth of payslips even if you are paid weekly) or if you are self employed, your audited accounts for at least the last two years from a certified or chartered accountant or at least the last two years tax assessments from HMRC.
• Your passport.
• Last three months bank statements (for all applicants).
• A photocopy of your marriage certificate, if applicable.
• Details of previous surnames, if applicable.
• Evidence of any benefits you receive i.e. child benefit.
• Evidence of your rent payment history, if applicable.
• Proof of residency for all addresses you have lived at for the past three years. This can be in the form of utility bills or council tax documentation or bank statements.
• If you have any credit cards, hire purchase or personal loans then please bring along the original agreements and the latest statements.
• Proof of savings.
• A signed letter from a family member confirming any gifted deposit.
• A cheque book in case it is needed to pay for a mortgage valuation or arrangement fee.
• A copy of your credit reference report; available through Experian, Equifax or a similar credit reference agency.

All of the above will be required by a mortgage provider and will be thoroughly assessed by the lender’s underwriters.

If you are going to live in your home with anyone other than your children, you must all complete the financial assessment and provide this information.

A mortgage adviser is able to look at the majority of the mortgage market and will be able to help you arrange a shared ownership mortgage – if you want them to. They will help you fill in the mortgage application form, submit the application and handle the processing of the application for you – saving you valuable time and ensuring the right type of mortgage is obtained. If you want to arrange your own mortgage, you should talk to banks and building societies and make sure that you advise them that you are buying a Shared Ownership property and the share you are buying.

You will need to make mortgage decisions fairly quickly as lenders take at least 21 days to issue a mortgage offer and by this stage in the process you will be expected to have a mortgage granted within four to five weeks. The maximum share you can buy will be confirmed by the mortgage adviser during the financial assessment. This is the maximum share we will allow as we must follow the HCA affordability assessment guidelines and we cannot be guided by what a lender may lend. You must also act quickly to arrange your mortgage as you are required to exchange contracts within four weeks of the contracts being issued by our solicitors (approximately six weeks from your reservation).

Why you need a Solicitor or Conveyancer

Everyone who buys a home needs a solicitor to do the necessary legal work. You can find more details in our complete guide to Shared Ownership. Your solicitor will:

• Make sure you have everything necessary to help you buy your home quickly.
• Check the lease and speak to your mortgage lender and our solicitors.
• Carry out what are known as “searches”, checking that we actually own the home we’re selling you and making sure there are no planned developments (such as new roads) that will effect your home.
• Check that all the paperwork and your mortgage are in place in time for you to move into your new home.

You should make sure you get a quotation of the likely costs before you appoint a solicitor, and we recommend doing this early on in the process. Overall, it should cost you between £600 and £1,250 which will include their fee, the land registry fee, search fees and expenses excluding stamp duty (known as disbursements). A deposit is commonly taken at instruction with the remainder payable at completion.

Remember that you pay for your solicitor’s time, so the more often you write to or phone your solicitor, the higher the charge is likely to be. To help you decide which solicitor to use, with your offer letter we send you a panel of solicitors who are experienced in Shared Ownership purchases. The solicitors on our panel offer fixed fees which will help you to budget. The panel of solicitors are not compulsory, although they do have a lot of experience of the Shared Ownership conveyance process, are on the majority of mortgage providers’ panels and more importantly come recommended by previous buyers.

If you do not use a solicitor from our panel, you should make sure that your solicitor has experience of Shared Ownership schemes – otherwise they may be learning at your expense! We recommend you always obtain a quotation before instructing, and when calling for a quote, see how they answer your call and how quickly they respond to your enquiry – this is a good indication of the service you may receive.