Buying a home

There are a number of ways you can buy your current home or a new one.

Right to buy

If you transferred to us from Christchurch Borough Council in 1991, you may have a ‘preserved right to buy’. This is similar to the ‘right to buy’ that you had as a ‘secure tenant’ with the council. This preserved right to buy may also apply if you have moved to another home of ours, as long as there has not been a gap between the different tenancies. Please phone our Resident Services team if you want more information or an application pack.

Right to acquire

If you live in a home that we have built or taken over since April 1997 and you have been a social housing tenant for at least 2 years, you may be able to buy your home for less than the market value with the help of a grant from the Government . Please contact us if you want more information or an application pack.

Shared ownership

Shared-ownership schemes such as the government’s New Build HomeBuy scheme allow you to buy part of your home and pay rent on the part you do not own.

What costs are involved?

You need to work out what you can afford to pay for a mortgage and rent per month in advance and make sure that you can afford the initial costs associated with buying a property. These include costs for:

• surveyors
• gas and electric tests
• solicitors fees
• local authority fee
• land registry fee
• bank transfer/other charges
• notice of charge and transfer
• stamp duty land tax.

If you are considering buying a property you should seek financial advice from first.

Buying a home means that you will need to have a good record of making regular payments for your mortgage and rent.  If you have had problems in keeping up with regular repayments in the past, we will only consider your application in exceptional circumstances – please call us to talk this through.

To qualify for shared ownership you need to register with ‘My Place’ who are the Homebuy agents for the South East Dorset area or HomesinHants for properties in the Hampshire area.

More information
Buying your home through the `right to buy` and `right to acquire`
You can download a right to buy application form by clicking here.

For more information, please contact Dee Gardner, Resident Services Administrator on 01202 460346.