Learn

Discount Market Sale (also known as Council Shared Equity or a reduced market value scheme) is a low-cost homeownership product where you can purchase a new-build property at a discount of up to 20%. You can find out more about Discount Market Sale and the various other buying and rental schemes available at our events on the Share to Buy website.

Discount Full Ownership is a home-buying scheme offered by housing provider, Pocket Living. If eligible, you can buy 100% of these Pocket homes with a discount of at least 20% below local market prices. You can find out more about Discount Full Ownership and the various other buying and rental schemes available at our events on the Share to Buy website.

Deposit Unlock is a scheme developed by the Home Builders Federation and reinsurance firm, Gallagher Re.

In order to protect themselves from the devaluation of new properties, mortgage lenders are often stricter on the amount they are willing to lend on newly built homes, often setting minimum required deposits of 15-25%. Deposit Unlock lets buyers put down a 5% deposit on a new-build home with the house builder paying to insure the mortgage to make lenders more comfortable about offering high Loan-to-Value (LTV) mortgages on new homes.

You can find out more about Deposit Unlock and the various other buying and rental schemes available at our events on the Share to Buy website.

If you have a disability and rely on benefits for your income, it may be possible for you to secure a specialist mortgage and part-buy a home of your own, either from a Shared Ownership development (properties built specifically for sale on a Shared Ownership basis) or from the open market. This second option uses a scheme known as HOLD (Home Ownership for people with Long-term Disabilities).

You can find out more about Shared Ownership, HOLD and the various other buying and rental schemes available at our events on the Share to Buy website.

Help to Buy was a government-backed scheme which aimed to help first time buyers get onto the property ladder. The alternative housing product provided eligible buyers with an equity loan (also known as shared equity) of up to 20% of the value of a new-build Help to Buy home. The Help to Buy government scheme provided a 20% loan so the buyer only needed to raise a 5% deposit, with a 75% mortgage making up the rest. However, the Help to Buy: Equity Loan officially ended in March 2023.

You can find out more about the various Help to Buy alternatives available at our events on the Share to Buy website.

The First Homes discount is a government scheme where first time buyers can purchase a home in their local area at a discount of 30% to 50% of the market value of the property. These new-build homes are offered by property developers and aim to help people in areas of high demand who would be unable to afford to buy a home locally without the discount.

You can find out more about the First Homes scheme and the various other buying and rental schemes available at our events on the Share to Buy website.

Older Persons Shared Ownership (OPSO) is a housing scheme in England designed to assist individuals aged 55 and over in purchasing a home. OPSO works similarly to Shared Ownership, meaning through OPSO, eligible participants can buy a share of a property – typically between 10% and 75% (through a mortgage or savings) – and pay a subsidised rent to a housing association on the remaining portion.

You can find out more about Older Persons Shared Ownership and the various other buying and rental schemes available at our events on the Share to Buy website.

Own New is an innovative home-buying scheme designed to make purchasing a new-build property more affordable and accessible for a wide range of buyers. Own New’s Rate Reducer is a unique feature that reduces the interest rate on your mortgage payments during the initial term, allowing for lower monthly payments and helping you pay off more of your capital.

You can find out more about Own New and the various other buying and rental schemes available at our events on the Share to Buy website.