The process

You’re buying a home. There will be paperwork, solicitors and mortgage advisers involved just like with any other house sale. At the end of the day, you’ll pick up the key to your own front door. 

1. Finding your new home

Our Sales team is here to help you find your new home and to step into home ownership. You no longer need a Help to Buy reference number. You can search through all the homes we have available now, and you can join our mailing list to be the first to hear about new releases as soon as they come onto the market. If you are interested or want to find out more, please contact us on sales@crosskeyshomes.co.uk.

2. Apply

After you've found the right home, the first step is to complete your online application with us. 

Read our Shared ownership allocations policy

3. Initial assessment 

We’ll also ask you to undertake an initial assessment with one of our chosen Mortgage Brokers. Your initial assessment will confirm the size of the share you can purchase and give you an indication of the costs involved. Whether you are purchasing in cash or with the aid of a mortgage, this assessment is mandatory to ensure the rent and service charge is affordable to you now and in the future. As part of the financial assessment, the broker will obtain a mortgage Decision in Principle from a mortgage lender on your behalf (if required).

Once we have your initial assessment, we will allocate a plot to you based on our availability, which will be confirmed on your provisional offer to reserve.

4. Second assessment 

After your provisional reservation, you’ll need to contact the broker who will go further into your financial situation and complete a budget planner confirming to us your income and expenditure. It will also confirm that your commitments comply with the current Homes England guidance and ensure your peace of mind that you won’t be stretched financially when purchasing your home.

5. Anti money laundering (AML) check 

Before we are able to offer you a home, we will need to complete an anti-money laundering check. The list of documents required for this will be provided after you apply.

6. Reservation 

We will issue you with a formal offer and ask you to complete the second part of our application form and reservation agreement. If you are buying a new build home, you will pay a £500 deposit (£250 of of this deposit will be deducted from your final payment upon completion). If you are buying a resale home, you will pay a £250 deposit. This is non-refundable.

5. Instruct solicitors 

Once you have paid your reservation fee and provided all the information we need, we will issue your Memorandum of Sale. At this point the home is sold to you ‘subject to contract’ (SSTC). 

You should formally instruct your solicitors and apply for your mortgage, if applicable.

7. Draft contracts 

Our solicitors will issue Draft Contracts to your solicitor. Your solicitors will review this information and order searches. These provide information about the area the property is in and the property you are buying. Once searches are received, they will raise enquiries on your behalf.

8. Mortgage offer and approval 

Once your mortgage application has been received by the lender, they will carry out a valuation on your new home prior to offering the mortgage.
We will receive a copy of your mortgage offer which we will check and approve.

9. The legal bits 

Once your solicitor has received the searches, enquiries are satisfied and your mortgage offer has been received, your solicitor will send you contracts to sign and return to them in the post. When these are received, they will do a final file review and then you will be in a position to exchange contracts and set a completion date. Occasionally, if a new build property has not been handed over to Cross Keys Homes, you will exchange on notice and set a date at a later time.

10. Moving day 

On completion day, we'll meet you and give you the keys to your new home!