Staircasing

Staircasing is when you buy further shares in your home. You would have the choice to buy the remaining equity in small amounts or buy the whole of the un-owned equity, so you own the property 100%. For example if you owned 50% of your property, you may now find that you can afford a larger mortgage and wish to purchase a further 25% share. You would then own 75% of your property and would only have to pay rent on the 25% that you do not own.

The first step is to ask the Trust to obtain a current valuation and we will instruct an idependent valuer who is a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) to provide this. You would have to pay the valuers fee along with an administration charge plus VAT. Please check with the Leasehold Department for the current fee. Once we have provided you with a copy of the valuation you would then decide whether to go ahead or not, although it should be noted that the above charges are payable in either case. The price for buying further shares will be based on the surveyor's valuation. Any valuation which the surveyor attributes to improvements you have made to the property will be deducted before calculating the purchase price. The transaction must then complete before a predetermined date following the valuation. Your solicitor's fees will usually be less than when you purchased your first share.

If you already own a shared ownership property and are considering staircasing, please feel free to contact the office on 020 8481 7277.