The Right to Acquire scheme enables some tenants to buy their home. This scheme is aimed at eligible assured tenants of Futures Homescape who did not transfer from Amber Valley Borough Council to Amber Valley Housing (now Futures Homescape) at the time of stock transfer (24 February 2003) and who have held an assured tenancy for a minimum of either two years or five years depending on when the assured tenancy started.
You do not have to have lived at the same address or to have been a tenant of the same Housing Organisation to qualify.
Up to three members of your family who are living with you or have lived with you for at least twelve months may be able to buy jointly with you.
Click on the questions below to view the answers.
Most Futures Homescape tenants who live in a property as their only or principal home have an assured tenancy.
Exceptions include tenancies granted to some Futures Homescape employees under their contract of employment.
Tenancies given on a temporary basis to people seeking employment in the area or to homeless people are not assured tenancies.
If you need more information about your tenancy status, please ask at our office.
The Right to Acquire applies only to properties built or purchased with public funds or transferred by a local authority after 1 April 1997, subject to certain exclusions.
Some properties are excluded from the Right to Acquire. These are properties provided specifically for the elderly, sheltered housing properties and properties held by Futures Homescape for non-housing or employment purposes. In addition to this, properties in certain rural areas containing settlements where the population is 3,000 or fewer are also excluded.
Providing your property falls within the Right to Acquire scheme - if you live in a house you may buy the freehold. If you live in a flat you may be granted a lease for 125 years.
Your home will be valued at market value by Futures Homescape. The value of any improvements which you have made will be disregarded. If you disagree with the valuation you may appeal to the District Valuer, whose decision will be final.
You will be entitled to a discount on the market value of your home. The amount of discount you receive is a fixed amount based on the region you live in. The fixed discount for the East Midlands is £9,000.
If you have previously had a discount to help you buy a home, this may be deducted from your Right to Acquire discount.
First of all, fill in an application form. These can also be obtained from our offices by telephoning the Right to Buy Officer on 0845 094 8321.
We will then let you know whether or not you qualify to buy. If you do, your home will be valued and you will be sent an offer stating the price and the discount available to you.
You are advised to have the property surveyed and you must arrange and pay for this yourself. You will also need to appoint a solicitor to act for you.
There are certain costs that you may need to pay on top of your purchase price. These are:-
- Stamp Duty Land Tax
- If the purchase price is more than £125,000 the Stamp Duty Land Tax is between 1% and 4% of the purchase price, on a sliding scale.
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- Solicitors’ Fees
- The solicitors acting on your behalf will charge you a fee. This is not a set fee but one that will vary. So it is advisable to shop around.
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- Mortgage Lender Fees
- Your mortgage lender will usually charge you an administration fee and a valuation fee.
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- Surveys
- We would also recommend that you have a full building and asbestos survey before you decide to go ahead with the purchase.
Once you have purchased the property you will not get housing benefit to help with mortgage costs. Your mortgage lender will want you to take steps to safeguard your property. This would include:
- Buildings insurance, to cover the event of a fire or other damage to the property
- Life insurance in case you had an accident and could not work again
- Mortgage payment protection insurance should you lose your job through no fault of your own
- Contents insurance, to cover the contents of you home in the event of a burglary or other loss.
If you do not maintain your mortgage payments regularly, you could lose your home.
Other costs that you will need to meet are items such as council tax, water rates, sewerage, gas, electricity and other utilities.
Once you have purchased your home you will be responsible for all of the maintenance of that property. This will include items such as leaking roof, heater/boiler broken, external painting, blocked drains and many more. It is advisable that you make sure you have a contingency fund in the event that something does go wrong.
If you buy the lease of a flat or maisonette, Futures Homescape will normally be responsible for carrying out external structural repairs and for the repair and maintenance of shared areas such as grounds, entrance halls and car parks.
In most cases you will have to pay an annual service charge towards the company’s costs. This service charge may also include a contribution towards the costs of improving the flat or the land where it is situated, providing caretaking, insurance and management.
If you wish to know more, please contact us.
Right of First Refusal
If you wish to resell or dispose of your home within 10 years from the date you purchased it you will be required to offer it to back to us at full market value. The market value must be agreed between Futures Homescape and you. If we are unable to agree the market value this will be determined by the District Valuer. If your offer has not been accepted within 8 weeks then you will be free to sell your home on the open market.
If you sell within the discount repayment period (specified below) you will have to repay some or all of the discount. The amount you repay will depend on when you made your application to buy.
If you applied to buy your home before 18 January 2005 and sell within 3 years of buying your home:
- If you sell within the first year after your purchase the whole of the discount will have to be repaid, two thirds within the second year and one third within the third year. After 3 years you can sell without repaying any discount.
If you applied to buy your home from 18 January 2005 onwards and sell within 5 years of buying your home:
- If you sell within the first year of purchase the whole discount will have to be repaid. Four fifths are repayable within the second year, three fifths within the third year, two fifths within the fourth year and one fifth within the fifth year. After 5 years you can sell without repaying any discount.
- If you sell within 5 years of purchase, the amount of discount to be repaid will be a percentage of the resale value of the property, disregarding improvements you have made.
Example:
At the time Mrs Wright purchased, her home was valued at £100,000. She received a discount of £9,000. Then, at the time of sale, the property is sold at a resale value of £120,000. At the time of the sale Mrs Wright is within the second year of purchase.
Calculation 1 (to determine the discount percentage):
Firstly we work out the discount percentage you received at the time of purchase (this percentage will be used in the resale calculation).
Discount ÷ valuation x 100% = Discount Percentage Received
In Our Example:
£9,000 ÷ £100,000 x 100% = 9%
Resale Calculation 2 (to determine the discount repayment):
Resale value x discount percentage received x repayment fraction = Discount repayment
In Our Example:
Mrs Wright sold her property at £120,000. Because she sold the property within the second year of purchase she will have to repay four fifths (80%) of the recalculated discount.
£120,000.00 x 9% x 4/5 = £8,640.00 (discount repayment)
Exceptions are made for sales to an existing joint owner, spouse, former spouse or a member of the family living in the property.
For additional information regarding the Right to Acquire, please view the Tenants Handbook or contact us.
Answer
Only tenants have a right to purchase their home, either under the Preserved Right to Buy or Right to Acquire schemes.
However, certain members of the tenant's family may have the right to share the right to buy or right to acquire alongside the tenant - providing that they have resided with the tenant for a minimum of 12 months prior to the submission of the application to purchase.
If you do not qualify to purchase your home under the Preserved Right to Buy or Right to Acquire schemes but wish to become a home owner our New Build Homebuy scheme could be for you.
We also have properties available on new developments.
