Heylo Housing: Staircasing Your Home
Staircasing your home through Heylo Housing has many similarities to a standard staircasing process. The amount of rent you pay is recalculated and reduced accordingly when you increase your share in the property.
Are you looking to staircase your shared ownership property? Read on to find out the differences in Heylo's staircasing process, when you can purchase shares, and the staircasing costs.
What is staircasing?
Staircasing is the process by which you purchase more shares for your shared ownership property. You can purchase more shares until you own 100% of your property, unless the lease states otherwise.
When you purchase a new set of shares, a memorandum of staircasing is provided to the Land Registry, informing them you have purchased more shares in your property. Think of it as a receipt to prove the new shares purchased are yours.
What is different about staircasing with Heylo?
Heylo housing staircasing differs from traditional shared ownership schemes because you don't require a mortgage when you initially purchase the property. Additionally, Heylo offers two schemes, each with its own set of rules for when you can buy more shares.
When can I buy more shares in my Heylo house?
Heylo offers two different schemes for buying shares in a shared ownership property:
- Your Home: You must have lived in your home for at least 12 months before you can purchase additional shares. Each time you staircase, you can go up by a minimum of 10%. Please note that an early termination fee may apply if you reach 100% ownership before the 5-year mark.
- Home Reach: For the Home Reach scheme, there are no restrictions on when you can purchase shares. You can buy the shares for your property at any time. However, Heylo advises you to check your lease to determine the minimum shares you can purchase.
What is the staircasing process?
There are several steps involved when staircasing. You’ll be able to staircase to 100% ownership of your property in most instances. This list will outline everything you need to know about the staircasing process.
- 1
Get funding in place
You will need to get your funding in place before you can purchase the next set of shares. This will be either through your savings or your mortgage in principle.
- 2
Book a RICS valuation
You will need to book an independent RICS valuation if you wish to purchase more shares in your property. This home revaluation will inform you of the valuation figure.
- 3
Send valuation to Heylo
The valuation you got from your survey is what you’ll need to send to Heylo along with the shares you wish to purchase. The cost of the shares will be based on the house's current market value.
- 4
Instruct your solicitor
You will instruct your solicitor to send over their details to Heylo. This is so Heylo can pass over the Memorandum of Staircasing to your solicitor. Your solicitor will then complete the conveyancing process on behalf of you, Heylo, and your mortgage lender. Be advised that you may have to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax.
Our experienced conveyancing solicitors can help you staircase your Heylo house, including registering the memorandum of staircasing at the Land Registry.
Get a fixed-fee, no-obligation online quote today from real people, in a real office, based in England. Your property challenges solved.
What is the cost of staircasing with Heylo?
The costs for staircasing with Heylo will depend on the property's current market value. These costs will include your RICS survey, your solicitors' fees, and any potential stamp duty land tax. Let's take a look at the full list of costs for staircasing with Heylo:
Cost type | Price |
|---|---|
Cost type RICS Survey | Price Our fees start from £375 EXC VAT for a level 2 survey, and from £499 EXC VAT for a level 3. |
Cost type Solicitor's fees | Price Our fees start from £649, plus £347 if you're remortgaging. |
Cost type Heylo staircasing admin fee | Price The Heylo staircasing admin fee is £240. |
Cost type Mortgage fees (if applicable) | Price Financing the purchase of the new shares through mortgage borrowing will mean you need to pay mortgage fees when updating your mortgage. |
Cost type Stamp Duty Land Tax (If applicable) | Price Stamp Duty Land Tax is dependent on the shares you are purchasing. |
Staircasing and Stamp Duty for Heylo Housing Your Home
Your stamp duty liability is dependent on the value of the shares you're purchasing. You may have paid your SDLT as a one-off upfront payment when you initially purchased the property, also known as Market Value Election.
The second option is paying SDLT in stages, in which case you will have paid any applicable SDLT on the original share you purchased. You don’t have to pay the remaining SDLT liability until you have staircased to 80% ownership of the property or more. Your solicitor will advise you about this.
Andrew started his career in 2000 working within conveyancing solicitor firms and grew hands-on knowledge of a wide variety of conveyancing challenges and solutions. After helping in excess of 50,000 clients in his career, he uses all this experience within his article writing for SAM, mainstream media and his self published book How to Buy a House Without Killing Anyone.
Caragh is an excellent writer and copy editor of books, news articles and editorials. She has written extensively for SAM for a variety of conveyancing, survey, property law and mortgage-related articles.
