Every shared ownership applicant for a Stonewater property is required to meet Stonewater's minimum surplus income requirements. This is the minimum amount of surplus income that an applicant should have available per month after accounting for housing costs and all commitments, as established by a budget planner – at present, we define the minimum amount of surplus income per month as 10% of net income after all commitments, including housing costs.
All Shared Ownership applicants, including cash purchasers, will be directed by Stonewater to a suitably qualified and experienced advisor that is regulated to give mortgage advice for a financial assessment, and completion of a budget planner will be carried out free of charge. Applicants are not obligated to arrange a mortgage with the advisor undertaking this financial assessment.
Stonewater places no restrictions on applicants with a limited deposit or who are reliant on benefits; the individual circumstances of applicants will be considered in any assessment. Please note Stonewater will also reference our adverse credit policy where relevant.
Stonewater operate a two-stage process regarding affordability assessments which is carried out by a suitably qualified mortgage advisor.
Initial assessment (Stage 1) This initial assessment stage would be a high-level check that an applicant is:
Full assessment (Stage 2) This is a more detailed assessment of income and expenditure and will involve a budget planner. Applicants will have to supply relevant documentation to support their application.
The purpose of this stage is to arrive at a share purchase that is suitable for the applicant in terms of their affordability and sustainability. In completing a budget planner, the advisor will ensure that the applicant has met Stonewater’s minimum surplus income requirements of 10% of net income after all commitments, including housing costs.
Applicants will be encouraged to purchase as large a share as is suitable based on their individual circumstances – however, applicants are permitted to retain a reasonable level of savings for emergencies, as well as to cover known foreseeable events to avoid them becoming overcommitted financially. Where applicants have a surplus income of more than 20% or the mortgage payments are less than 20% of net income after all commitments and housing costs, we may undertake a review to ensure customers are taking the optimum share they can afford.
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