Buying More Shares

 

How do I buy more shares?

Buying more shares in your shared ownership home is called 'Staircasing'. The process typically takes no more than three months.

The existing share you own is valued by an independent surveyor. Both you and Muir are each responsible for our respective solicitor fees.

 

Can I purchase all of the shares in my home?

We will check your lease. This is the legal agreement which sets out our joint responsibilities. The lease states the maximum % share you can buy – this is often 100%. Some leases state the maximum % available to purchase is 80%. Your solicitor will have given you a copy of your lease when you purchased. You may be able to obtain a copy on line from Land Registry - www.landregistry-deeds.co.uk

If you buy 100% of the shares in your home you will no longer pay rent. If you pay service charges to us now, these charges may still be payable.

You may chose to buy shares in stages, or you may be able to buy all of the remaining shares available for purchase in one go.

If you buy 100% of the shares in an apartment you will own 100% of the leasehold interest in the property. If you buy 100% of the shares in a house you will usually become the freeholder.

 

Valuing the property

You will need a valuation to be carried out by an independent surveyor registered with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

The valuation typically lasts for three months and you are responsible for this cost. If you have not completed the purchase of the shares by then an updated valuation will be needed; unless the valuer has clearly stated on their report that the valuation with last for longer. If you have carried out any structural improvements to your property, it is important you obtained our written permission for these.

You will need to ask the valuer to confirm the valuation amount for any improvements in their report

A  panel of valuers can be found here: Panel of Surveyors - 2023.pdf [pdf] 162KB

You can contact a valuer directly to book an appointment and pay for the valuation. The valuation is a fixed amount. Send it to homeownership@muir.org.uk within one month of the valuation date.

We will write to you once we have received the valuation, to confirm the purchase price of the shares.

 

Funding the purchase

If you need a mortgage to fund the purchase of extra shares, we recommend you contact an independent financial advisor.

If you are purchasing some shares but not 100% of the shares in the property, your mortgage lender will ask us to provide our written consent to the mortgage.

 

Solicitors

If you decide to go ahead we will each instruct a solicitor to act on our behalf. We are each responsible for our own legal fees.

 

Apply now

Please complete the following form. A member of the Home Ownership Team will then contact you.

Buying More Shares in Your Home

Note: Questions marked by * are mandatory

*This is a mandatory field. Your Name

*This is a mandatory field. Property Address

*This is a mandatory field. Your email address

*This is a mandatory field. Your phone number

*This is a mandatory field. Current % share of property owned

*This is a mandatory field. % share which you wish to purchase (We will confirm if all % shares are available to purchase)

*This is a mandatory field. Please state any structural alterations you obtained our permission for

*This is a mandatory field. I confirm I have obtained an independent RICS valuation and emailed a copy of the report to homeownership@muir.org.uk

*This is a mandatory field. I confirm the valuation report states how long the valuation will last for