Just Mortgages and Gen H have introduced a new calculator designed to help shared ownership customers assess whether they could move to full home ownership using Gen H’s part-and-part mortgage proposition.
The national brokerage has expanded its partnership with Gen H through the launch of a bespoke tool aimed at supporting shared ownership borrowers who want to buy out their housing association’s stake and move to full ownership.
The calculator demonstrates how Gen H’s part-and-part mortgage could enable eligible customers to purchase the remaining share of their property and exit the shared ownership scheme.
Under the arrangement, part of the mortgage is structured on an interest-only basis, reducing monthly payments and helping to address affordability constraints that may have originally led borrowers to choose shared ownership.
Customers can switch to a part-and-part mortgage with as little as a 5% equity share in their property.
The tool has been developed to help advisers model the financial implications of moving to full ownership compared with remaining in a shared ownership arrangement. It is intended to support more informed discussions with customers about their long-term options.
The initiative also seeks to address some of the challenges associated with staircasing, particularly as property values have increased. Rather than purchasing additional shares over time through the traditional staircasing process, customers can make overpayments to reduce the interest-only element of their mortgage balance.
Gen H said overpayment requests can be submitted through its customer dashboard and approved within minutes.
The launch builds on an existing relationship between the two firms, which previously included Just Mortgages gaining access to Gen H’s New Build Boost mortgage scheme.
Just Mortgages has a specialist new build and shared ownership division comprising 32 advisers and works with developers, housing associations, introducers and lenders across the UK.
John Doughty, chapter managing director at Just Mortgages, said: “Shared ownership has been instrumental in helping more people realise their dream of home ownership. Its success can really be counted in the number of first-time buyers, single buyers, divorcees and even families that have finally been able to get on the ladder.
“This fantastic and well thought out calculator from Gen H helps make clear a simple path to full home ownership that many may not be aware of, and we’re thrilled Gen H has chosen to partner with us to launch it.
“It certainly speaks to our expertise and experience in shared ownership and our reputation for quality advice that a lender like Gen H would trust us to lead on this proposition.
“It’s yet another example of the innovation Gen H is bringing to the new build mortgage market to bridge gaps and increase access to home ownership.
“We’re really proud to extend our partnership with their tremendous team.”
Peter Docker, chief commercial officer at Gen H, added: “For many long-term shared ownership households, property appreciation and salary growth has not directly translated into an ability to staircase.
“What is undoubtedly a great stepping stone into home ownership has in practice become a stumbling block towards full ownership.
“Our part-and-part criteria allows us to unlock that full ownership option for more households – effectively staircasing through overpayments all while avoiding legal fees, valuation costs and housing association sign-off in the process.
“With expert advice remaining an integral part of this process, it made absolute sense to partner with Just Mortgages – particularly given their significant footprint and clear expertise in the shared ownership space.
“Just Mortgages’ advisers will be able to combine their expert knowledge with our new interactive calculator to have better informed conversations with customers around their future options.
“We are really pleased to be working with Just Mortgages to create more full homeowners.”
