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Home SOS

Do you part own and part rent a home from Flourish Homes?

If you have money troubles and you’re worried about losing your home, then the new Home SOS scheme, launched by the Aster Group, could help.

Maybe you’ve lost your job or other things have happened, which means you’re struggling to make ends meet. If you’re worse off and you’re not to blame, we’ll do all we can to help you hold on to your home.

Introducing Home SOS

With Home SOS, we might be able to buy back a share or all of your home and you can stay living in it. If we buy back a share, you’ll just pay more rent on the part we own and less on your mortgage. In the future you’ll be able to buy back shares, if you want.

So for example, you may own 75% of your home at the moment. You may want to sell back a 50% share so you just own 25%. Your mortgage would come down and you’d pay rent on 75% of your home rather than 25%. If we buy back all of your share, you’d become a tenant.

For example

Who can apply?

You don’t need to be behind on your mortgage or rent payments but you must be struggling to make ends meet.

You need to show you’ve got money troubles. For example, you’ve lost your job or had your hours cut.
You need to show you’ve looked at ways to try and sort out your money troubles and that Home SOS is your last resort. For example, you’ve tried changing your mortgage to make the payments smaller, applied for housing benefit on your rent, looked into selling your home and buying or renting a smaller place.
If we’re buying back a share you’re still going to part-own your home, you’ll need to afford the cost of any repairs or maintenance. You might be able to claim housing benefit to cover some of your service charges, but you must have the money to keep your home in good repair
You need to show you’ve had independent advice from a debt counsellor. Your local Citizens Advice Bureau or National Debtline can help.
You need to show you’ve been willing to pay your mortgage and rent and you’ve stayed in touch with us and your mortgage lender in the last six months. The sooner you let us know you’ve got money troubles, the sooner we can help you hold on to your home.

Home SOS is for existing shared owners who part own their homes with Flourish Homes, Ridgeway Community Housing Association, Sarsen Housing Association and Testway Housing, which are all members of Aster Group. Although we’ll do all we can to help, your housing association has the right to refuse your application. You must be able to pay the costs of any financial or legal advice you get from a financial advisor or solicitor.