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We bagged a four-bed dream home with just £8,000 by using little-known scheme – it was so easy
We explain how the Home Stepper scheme works
NEW homeowners Adam King and Tayla Trigg bought their dream house with a deposit of just £8,208 with the help of a little-known scheme.
The pair, both 27 years old, are the proud owners of a four-bed new-build home after they discovered a scheme that enabled them to buy it with a fraction of the deposit they would usually need.
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Adam, a maintenance manager at a care home, and Tayla, a call handler for a medical supplies firm, started saving up for a deposit in 2017, six months after they met.
But the cost of living hit them both hard and they struggled to put much cash away.
So, they decided to move back into a room at Adam's parents' home in Northampton so they could save up for a deposit on their own place.
“It was great of my mum and dad to allow us to live there, but we dreamed of the day when we would afford to buy our own place so we could have our own space," Adam said.
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"We bought a bottle of Prosecco on the day we started saving and vowed we would keep it and open it when we finally had our own home.”
But after six years, the couple still felt really far off being able to buy their own property.
It was great of my mum and dad to allow us to live there, but we dreamed of the day when we would afford to buy our own place
Adam King
Then, they discovered a scheme which enabled them to buy a four-bedroom home on a new-build estate in Northampton.
The Home Stepper shared ownership scheme, is offered by a number of new-build developers to help first time buyers get on the property ladder.
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The house was on the market for £171,000, but they bought a 50% share and put down a 10% deposit on that.
“One day in June, Tayla was off work and spotted the four-bedroom home on offer for £171,000 through the Home Stepper scheme,” Adam said.
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“She was so excited, she went down herself and the sales adviser told her all about the initiative which meant we could buy a 50% share in the house and pay rent on the rest - while still treating it as our own home."
The couple "fell in love" with the property as soon as they walked through the door.
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“We sat down with the adviser, Rachel, and she explained how we were able to afford it if we used the Home Stepper scheme."
The couple put down a deposit of just £8,208 and moved into their new home in November 2023.
They are now paying £862 on the mortgage, plus £468 in rent to the landlord who owns the rest of the share - £1,330 in total.
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What is shared ownership and how does it work?
A shared ownership scheme is where you buy a share in a property, rather than buying the entire home, and you pay rent to a landlord on the remaining chunk you don't own.
You can usually buy a share of between 25% and 75% of the home's full value, although some schemes will let you buy as little as 20%.
You then pay rent on the remaining share to whoever owns it - usually a housing association, local council or a private organisation.
For example, if you bought a 40% share in a new-build home, you might pay rent on the 60% share owned by the estate.
You may also have to pay maintenance fees for shared areas in the development.
By buying a portion of the property, this means you only have to take out a mortgage for that amount, or you may be able to put all your savings down to buy the share outright.
According to the Government, you'll usually need to put down between 5% and 10% of the share you're buying as a deposit.
Over time, you may be able to increase your shares in the property. This means you will pay less rent to the landlord.
The Home Stepper scheme is run by Sage Homes, and it's currently offered by developers including Linden Homes, Bovis Homes, Countryside Homes, Taylor Wimpey and Tilia Homes.
The scheme allows developers to convert a number of homes on their estates into affordable shared ownership properties, to help people get on the property ladder.
The developer acts as the landlord for the remaining percentage of the home.
The scheme then lets homeowners buy the rest of their property over time, known as "stair-casing", up to 100% of its market value.
Buying the entire value means they will then get the freehold or the full leasehold interest in the property.
Freehold is where you own the property and the land its on, while leasehold gives you the right to live in the property for a fixed period.
What are the pros and cons of shared ownership?
The main benefit of a shared ownership scheme is that it allows you to buy a home you wouldn't have otherwise been able to afford.
You can get on the property ladder with a much lower deposit than if you bought the entire home, and you may be able to build up the share you own over time.
One of the major downsides, however, is that you will have to keep paying rent on the part of the house you don't own alongside your mortgage.
You need to factor both payments into your financial planning when you're looking to buy through a shared ownership scheme.
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A housing association will charge you 2.75% rent on their share, according to Unbiased.co.uk.
Because you don't own the entire property, you may also face some restrictions, or you may need to ask permission from the landlord of the remaining share if you want to do certain things.
Different types of mortgages
We break down all you need to know about mortgages and what categories they fall into.
A fixed rate mortgage provides an interest rate that remains the same for an agreed period such as two, five or even 10 years.
Your monthly repayments would remain the same for the whole deal period.
There are a few different types of variable mortgages and, as the name suggests, the rates can change.
A tracker mortgage sets your rate a certain percentage above or below an external benchmark.
This is usually the Bank of England base rate or a bank may have its figure.
If the base rate rises, so will your mortgage but if it drops then your monthly repayments will be reduced.
A standard variable rate (SVR) is a default rate offered by banks. You usually revert to this at the end of a fixed deal term, unless you get a new one.
SVRs are generally higher than other types of mortgage, so if you're on one then you're likely to be paying more than you need to.
Variable rate mortgages often don't have exit fees while a fixed rate could do.
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