| Sinclair Drive, Basingstoke, Hampshire

For Sale 2 bedroom house
Property value £180,000
Share percent 40%
Share percent price £72,000

Over 55's

Most of our homes are designed to help new home owners get a foot on the housing ladder and these are generally the under 30's but sometimes there are those who are over 55 or retired who would like some help too.

The government is increasingly concerned about the ageing structure of our population and housing associations have therefore been asked to consider building more sheltered housing schemes. We already have one or two schemes but more are in the pipeline.

If you are struggling to maintain your present home, the garden may be proving too much to cope with and the heating costs too expensive, or you may be thinking about downsizing. To qualify for our schemes, you would need to prove that you do not have sufficient financial resources to enable you to buy suitable accommodation on the open market.

You also need to:

to be capable of living an independent life, and in particular to manage your own housekeeping affairs
have a local community or family connection in the area

Most schemes will be sold as a 70% share and a service charge will be payable for the maintenance of the common areas, the garden and the services of the scheme manager. Usually provided are a residents lounge, a guest suite for your family and friends to visit, and activities may be arranged by the manager. You will still have your independence and your own front door, but you can join in with the activities if you wish and there is no need to feel lonely. You can also enjoy the garden without having to do all of the weeding!

However, separate to the above mentioned sheltered schemes, we may also build brand new properties that will be sold solely to over 55's. These would generally be sold based on NewBuild HomeBuy (ie part buy, part rent) and you would need to be able to fund a purchase of a share in a property ranging from 25% to 75% either through a mortgage or via a cash lump sum. You would also need to be able to pay rent and service charge on the remaining share. For more details on how the NewBuild HomeBuy scheme works click here. The only real difference compared to the standard NewBuild HomeBuy scheme is that you would need to be over 55 at the point of occupation (completion).