Linden Homes has teamed up with the country’s largest provider of new-build affordable homes to launch Home Stepper – a new shared ownership scheme with some of the first properties available in Oxfordshire.
The housebuilder has joined forces with Sage Homes to provide five new homes through the scheme at its Didcot Grove location in Didcot.
Home Stepper has been created to help people who can’t afford to purchase a home outright get onto the property ladder by offering homes on a part-buy, part-rent basis.
The new initiative allows Linden Homes and Sage Homes to convert open market houses and apartments into affordable shared ownership properties if buyers can’t afford the price. This makes more homes affordable for people on lower incomes and with smaller deposits.
The new homes at Didcot Grove available through the scheme will be three-bedroom Elmslie houses.
Alix Laflin, marketing manager at Linden Homes, said: “The launch of this fabulous initiative, which will help people who cannot afford to buy their own home on the open market, is very exciting.
“At Didcot Grove, we are building a total of 76 new homes, with more than a third of them designated as affordable homes for local people through shared ownership and low-cost rent.
“Now, through Home Stepper, we are able to release another five new homes on a part-buy, part-rent basis, which further increases our ability to provide housing that meets the needs of local people.
“These extra five homes will all be the three-bedroom Elmslie, which is a very popular house with families. The thoughtful layout of the property provides a flexible living space which meets the needs of modern living.
“The open-plan kitchen/dining room at the front provides the heart of the home, while the spacious separate living room, which spans the back of the property and has French doors to the back garden, offers a multi-functional space which can be used for relaxation or working from home.
“Upstairs, the master bedroom has an en-suite, and the other two bedrooms share a family bathroom. We have enjoyed a long working partnership with Sage Homes, and it is great to be able to team up with them like this on Home Stepper.”
Shared ownership homes, which are typically cheaper to rent than private rentals and significantly more affordable than buying on the open market, are traditionally provided by housebuilders as part of a planning agreement with the local authority and are in pre-set numbers at designated locations.
However, through Home Stepper, Linden Homes can make more of its top-quality homes available for shared ownership at developments where it is thought that buyers on lower incomes will benefit.
Iain McPherson, Chief Operating Officer at Sage Homes, said: “We’ve been able to deliver almost 12,000 affordable homes in just over five years by working closely with our partners, so I’m delighted to take this further by introducing Home Stepper.
“Our new Home Stepper scheme aims to make the Shared Ownership product available in more locations to more aspiring homeowners looking for attractive and high-quality homes to call their own.”
The scheme will start with around 800 new, high-quality homes being made available nationwide through a partnership between Sage Homes and Vistry Group, which incorporates Linden Homes, Bovis Homes and Countryside Homes.
Visit lindenhomes.co.uk to learn more about the new homes on offer through Home Stepper at Didcot Grove.
