buying with believe housing
We offer a variety of options to help you buy your dream home.
more homes, better places
We’re building high-quality and energy-efficient affordable properties, from family homes to bungalows, in towns and rural communities stretching across County Durham and beyond.
Whether you’re a single buyer, a growing family or need a more accessible home, buying with believe housing could help you find your ideal home and get onto the property ladder.
New homes by believe housing are profit for purpose developments, meaning any profits are reinvested into believe housing’s social and affordable housing schemes.
helping you get on the property ladder
Rent to Buy is a government scheme that aims to help people in England step on to the housing ladder by offering affordable homes at a 20% discount below market rent for five years. The idea is that with a lower rent, you can save for a deposit to buy your home at the same time.
The believe housing Rent to Buy scheme is designed to help people who can’t currently afford to buy or rent suitable accommodation on the open market, providing them with the future opportunity of owning their own home.
Find out more about the rent to buy scheme here.
Shared ownership is a government-backed scheme that supports people those who can’t yet afford to buy a home outright.
The scheme works by allowing you to buy a percentage share that you can afford of a leasehold home and pay rent on the rest. You will only need to secure a mortgage on the percentage of the home that you purchase meaning your deposit is a lot lower than it would be buying on the open market.
For example, you might buy a 50% share in the property and pay rent to the landlord for the remaining 50%. You may pay monthly ground rent and service charges, for example towards the maintenance of communal areas
The share you can initially buy is usually between 10% and 75%.
As and when your financial circumstances change, you will be able to purchase more shares in your home through ‘staircasing’ until you own 100% of your home.
Find out more about shared ownership here.
Affordable rent is a government-backed scheme that supports those whose needs are not met by the market. Homes are let at below market rent by a registered provider.
The rent, including service charge, is set at up to 80% of the local market rent for an equivalent home.
believe housing’s affordable rent homes are allocated through choice-based lettings partnerships, between the major landlords and local county councils.
We advertise all our properties in:
- County Durham on the Durham Key Options (DKO) website.
- Sunderland on the Sunderland City Council website.
- Darlington on the Darlington Borough Council website.
- Hartlepool on the Hartlepool Borough Council website.
- Middlesbrough, Redcar, and Stockton-on-Tees on the Tees Valley Home Finder website.