Demystifying staircasing

But what does it really mean? How do you do it? How much does it cost? Why do we say “climbing the property ladder”, but the process is called “staircasing”?

We have answers to some of these questions for you.

What is staircasing?

Put simply, staircasing is buying more shares in a shared ownership property. You can do it as many times as you like until you own 100% of the property, but you do have to buy at least 10% at a time.

The actual process differs slightly depending on which of our three routes you choose to go down, and you can find out more about each of them in our Help section.

How can I buy more shares in my home?

How much does it cost?

It depends on the current value of your home. If your property is valued at £300,000 and you want to buy another 25%, it’ll cost you £87,500 (25% of £300,000).

If you’ve made improvements that have added value to your home (and we’ve said it’s ok), you may pay less when you buy extra shares.

There are also other costs such as fees for solicitors and surveyors, and you may need to pay stamp duty depending on what percentage of your home you’ll own afterwards.

How much will it cost me to buy more shares in my home?

Why staircase?

We love owning a home with you, but once you own 100% of your home you won’t have to pay us rent anymore (although you may still pay a service charge or ground rent).

But don’t take our word for it - we spoke to A2Dominion customer Richard, who now owns 100% of the shared ownership property he bought with our help, to find out what difference it has made for him and his family…

Shared ownership gave us stability and independence

(Staircasing) was reasonably simple with the information online and a good solicitor. We bought the remaining shares in one chunk. We didn’t want to wait and watch the costs increase, but we also wanted independence.

You feel different walking in the door each day to a home you own. You know you have long-term security and stability.

You know where your child is going to school, you know how you can get to and from work, you know the area, you can plan ahead. There’s no risk that your house might get sold and you’ll be looking for somewhere else to live that may not meet all your needs.”

Richard, A2Dominion shared owner

Find out more about shared ownership or view what’s available.