Taking the first steps on the housing market has been made a realistic opportunity for many people from all walks of life, by the introduction of shared ownership. You may have heard of this affordable housing scheme as 'part buy, part rent' because that's the main principles of how the scheme works.

You buy a share in your home and then pay a reduced rent on the remaining shares. The amount you buy and the amount you pay rent on is variable according to your own individual needs. The scheme also enables you to buy further shares and if you wish you can buy all of the shares so that you own your home outright, which of course means you won't have to continuing paying rent!

At a recent National Federation Conference on shared ownership, the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) explained their ethos of working with high street lenders to assist first time buyers purchase affordable homes.

The HCA are already working with national lenders such as Lloyds, Nationwide, Barclays, HSBC and the Royal Bank of Scotland all of which are major supporters of HomeBuy Direct. They are now extending their relationships to include several regional building societies thereby creating a competitive market for low cost housing. A recent success story is East Midlands Melton Mowbray Building Society who are now supporting the HomeBuy Direct equity loan scheme with no deposit required.

If you are looking for an affordable home in Nottingham or Lincoln on a shared ownership or part rent part buy basis, Derwent Living housing association is offering three different developments for your consideration. There is also a fantastic ‘try before you buy’ option in Nottingham that could cost you just £420 per month.

Once you have clicked on your chosen the link below please remember to go to the ‘arrange viewing’ icon to take your first step to buying your first home.

Unwin Road, Nottingham
£63,000 (50% share) Shared Ownership
http://www.smartshare.co.uk/property/view/2337

Set in the idyllic market town of Sutton-in-Ashfield, The Hillocks is part of a development by Perveril Homes consisting of two bedroom houses, three bedroom houses and two bedroom apartments available for Easy Living.

The prices are:
Two bedroom house from £ 56,250 (50% share)
Three bedroom house from £ 63,000 (50% share)
Two bed apartments from £ 50,000 (50% share)

SmartShare is proud to welcome Family Mosaic housing association on board their growing property website for affordable homes.

With nine new schemes on offer consisting of a wide range of one to four bedroom homes across London and Essex, there are homes for many first time buyers, renters and prospective homeowners looking in the Southwark, Hornchurch, Brixton, Barnet, West Norwood, Thornton Heath, Basildon, Camberwell, Parmiter Street E10, Wembley, Thurrock, Bow, Kennington areas.

Click here for a direct link to all their properties on SmartShare: http://www.smartshare.co.uk/properties/association

Family Mosaic was set up in 1990 and now manages more than 800 affordable homes, most of them in shared ownership and the remainder rented. Recognised as one of the largest affordable home providers in this area, Family Mosaic provides housing and services to over 45,000 people and has more than 20,000 homes for rent.

SmartShare has developed a unique function on their affordable homes website that allows consumers to enter their monthly income and the location they are looking to 'part buy part rent' or 'rent to buy' and all the homes available from many of the leading housing assocations will appear in the search results.

Gareth Robinson, CEO says "This is a great function for consumers as we are delivering search results that meets their personal income from many of the top UK housing assocations. We are also saving the propsective affordable homeowner time by creating a property portal that only advertises part buy part rent or rent to buy properties."

To find your shared ownership home on the largest affordable homes property website go to www.smartshare.co.uk

If you are looking for a shared ownership home also known as part rent part buy, there is a unique website dedicated to affordable homes.

There are homes to part rent part buy or rent to buy so if you are a first time buyer, key worker, social tenant or a person who needs help in buying a home go to www.smartshare.co.uk

Many of the leading housing associations are already advertising their homes on SmartShare which saves you time as all the great properties are in one place!

If you have any questions with regards to shared ownership, click on the link and all the frequently answered questions will be there:

http://www.smartshare.co.uk/frequently-asked-questions-about-affordable-...

SmartShare has the largest choice of shared ownership properties in the UK.

Many of the top housing associations are advertising their properties on this unique website dedicated to affordable homes.

If you are looking for a new home on a 'part rent part buy' or 'rent to buy' basis, we have homes available for you to view online today. Each development has homes ranging from one bedroom to family homes and are all brand new or newly refurbished.

The website is free to search and register so why not go to www.smartshare.co.uk right now.

Find your new shared ownership property in London by going to the largest website for affordable homes www.smartshare.co.uk

We have partnered the top housing associations in London including Family Mosaic, Notting Hill, A2Dominion, Swan, Inplace, Griffin, Servite and Shepherds Bush to offer you all the best homes available to 'buy' or 'rent to buy' on one website.

SmartShare is the largest property website offering affordable homes in the UK for sale on a ‘part buy part rent’ or ‘rent to buy’ basis.

We have thousand of properties available to suit your needs – from a one bedroom apartment to a five bedroom family house – all from the top housing associations.

Start looking for your new home today... it’s just a click away at the number one website for affordable homes www.smartshare.co.uk

Remember: Shared ownership properties are available to a wide range of people such as first time buyers, low income workers such as teachers, police officers, nurses, firemen, people who cannot buy without help perhaps due to bereavement or divorce and social tenants.

The main criteria to become eligible for an affordable home is: A household income of less than £60,000 (up to four people can be included within the total income) and you must not own another house.

Buying a shared ownership home enables you to buy a home to suit your needs by purchasing a share of the property and paying a subsidised rent on the part you do not own.

Depending on the scheme and personal circumstances:

The purchaser can buy a share of the property e.g. 25%, 50% or 75% and is generally financed by a mortgage available from a high street lender or specialist mortgage lender.

A subsidised rent is payable to the housing association for the share of the property which you do not own. For example if you buy a 30% share, then you will pay 70% of the rent which the housing association would normally charge for the whole property.

Once you have moved in and you can afford to buy a larger share in the property e.g. 10%, 25% then in most cases you can keep doing so until you own 100% of the property outright - this is known as ‘staircasing’.