Buying a Leasehold and Shared Ownership Property

Register on our waiting list using any of the following methods listed below:

Via our website
Please complete our enquiry form. You will need to provide your name, date of birth, contact details, and details of the areas and/or developments in which you wish to live.

By email
Please email general.enquiries@jjhousing.co.uk. You will need to provide your name, date of birth, contact details, and details of the areas and/or developments in which you wish to live.

By telephone
Call our customer services team on 0345 305 5335 Monday – Friday 8.30am – 5.00pm.

In writing
Please write to Johnnie Johnson Housing, Eden Point, Three Acres Lane
Cheadle Hulme, Cheadle, SK8 6RL. You will need to provide your name, date of birth, contact details, and details of the areas and/or developments in which you wish to live.

Eligibility
You must be eligible to apply for leasehold ownership schemes. The criteria is:

• You must be at least 18 years old.
• Your annual household income must be less than £80,000.
• You should generally be a first time buyer, i.e. you don’t already own a home. If you do already own, you must be in the process of selling it.
• You should not be able to afford to buy a home suitable for your housing needs on the open market.
• You must show you are not in mortgage or rent arrears.
• You must be able to demonstrate that you have a good credit history (no bad debts or county court judgements) and can afford the regular payments and costs involved in buying a leasehold.
• You should have savings or to be able to easily access at least £4,000 to cover the costs of buying a leasehold. This is a guideline figure – the actual amount you need will depend on the Help to Buy option you choose.
• In most cases when buying a leasehold, you will also need to have enough savings or be able to easily access a minimum 5-10% of the equity share you are buying as a deposit.

Once registered on the waiting list, if any properties become available for sale in your area(s) of choice and you are eligible, you will be invited to view the properties.

Some of our properties are advertised for sale with local estate agents.

If you like the property you have viewed, you must let us know. You can also search our property database for all available properties that match your criteria.

Once you have selected a property, you will be sent an application form to complete and return. You will also need to supply the following information with the application:

• National Insurance number
• Details of income from employment, benefits, pensions etc.
• Details of any savings, loans, and investments
• Proof of funds and, where appropriate, proof of mortgage in principle
• Copies of bank statements and salary slips for the most recent three months

If your application meets our criteria, you may also be asked to apply for approval by a Help To Buy agent. Help To Buy agents are appointed by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and act as a one-stop shop and point of contact for people looking for affordable homes to buy in their area.

Once your application has been approved and your finances are in place, we will agree a moving in date with you.

In addition to undertaking an assessment, our leasehold officers will complete a pre-reservation checklist with you over the telephone. This will ensure you have details of the leaseholder’s main responsibilities and any services you would be required to pay for as part of your monthly service charge at the development you are being considered for.

If the leasehold officer advises you that your application has been successful, we will post out a copy of your completed application form and pre-reservation checklist form for signing and returning. You will also be asked to provide details of the solicitor who will be acting on your behalf.

Once the leasehold officer has all the necessary information, we will instruct our solicitors to commence sale proceedings, and at that stage you will liaise directly with your solicitor until the sale completes.

Your solicitor will confirm when they are ready to agree an exchange of contracts and a completion date. Once the sale has been completed, you will then deal directly with Johnnie Johnson Housing regarding any matters arising, for example service charge payments, reporting repairs, and general queries.