Accomodation

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How to rent

If you first arrive in the UK, the first upmost necessity should be accommodation. It could be difficult to find a dream home in the UK as it may need a lot of time and effort to search for a house or a flat. These are some of the websites you can look at when you are searching for accommodation:

Information

Things of concern

If you are looking for accommodation, the things you would look at is the transportation (if there is tube station or bus nearby), amenities (supermarkets, drugstores, clinics and so on), school networks (if you have children), safety (the crime rate) and other aspects. The rent can include or exclude the utilities such as electricity, water, and gas, as well as the TV license fees and council tax. Council tax varies in different areas and for different individuals. For example, there may be a discount for single resident. All the utilities and tax would add an extra £100 to £150 to the rent.

The city centre is usually much more expensive than the suburbs, but you should also take the transportation into account if you work in the city or go there often. There should be a balance between the rent, the transportation, and all other expenses. According to some experts, a resident should not spend more than 35% of their income on rent alone. However, in reality, for some cities like London, renters usually pay more than half of their income for rent in London.

Information

Where to life

Popular destinations for Hong Kongers to live include London, Birmingham, and Manchester. Some other cities such as Liverpool, Reading and Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland up north are also the options. In London, areas where Hong Kongers tend to live in include the up-and-coming commercial district Canary Wharf and suburbs such as Ealing, Richmond, and Kingston.

Information

Own a property

It is almost everyone’s dream in Hong Kong to buy a flat of their own, but the housing prices are too expensive, and the living space is too small in Hong Kong. Now in the UK, you will have a chance to buy a flat or even a house with much bigger space to live in. There are also some Help to Buy schemes offered by the government to help first-time buyer to buy a property.

Information

Equity Loan

Eligibility

If you're buying a new-build home as a first-time buyer, you can apply for the equity loan to get help with some of the cost of the property.

- 18 or over
- A first-time buyer
- Able to afford the fees and interest payments


You cannot get the equity loan if you have ever:

- Owned a home or residential land in the UK or abroad
- Had any form of sharia mortgage finance


The property you buy with your equity loan must be:

- A new-build
- Sold by a Help to Buy registered homebuilder
- The only home you own and live in
- It must not have been lived in by anyone before you buy it



Loan and Repayment

Buyer puts down a deposit of at least 5% on a new-build property, while the government lends up to a further 20% (or 40% if you are buying in London), creating a total deposit of 25% (or 45% for Londoners). Mortgage is needed to cover the rest of purchase.


When you sell your property, you will pay back 20% of your home’s sale price to the government, regardless the new value of the property. For example, if you bought your home for £250,000 but sold for £300,000, the government would have lent you £50,000 (20%) initially, but you’d need to repay £60,000 (still 20%) when you sell.

You can repay the equity loan at any time before you sell it without penalty, as long as it is in chunk of at least 10% of your home’s current market value.

Information

Shared Ownership

You can also buy a share of your home. Shared ownership properties are always leasehold properties. For a leasehold property, you only own it for a fixed period of time. You can have a legal agreement with the landlord called a 'lease'. This tells you how many years you will own the property. The share you can buy is usually between 25% and 75%. You can buy a 10% share on some homes. For people aged 55 or over, you can buy up to 75% of your home through the Older People’s Shared Ownership (OPSO) scheme.

Eligibility


  • Your household earns £80,000 a year or less (£90,000 a year or less in London)

  • You cannot afford all the deposit and mortgage payments for a home that meets your needs

One of the following must also be true:


  • You are a first-time buyer

  • You used to own a home, but cannot afford to buy one now

  • You own a home and want to move but cannot afford a new home suitable for your needs

  • You are forming a new household, for example after a relationship breakdown

  • You are an existing shared owner and want to move

You will be eligible for shared ownership once you accept an offer for the sale of your current home ('sold subject to contract' or 'STC') or have the written confirmation of the sale agreed (a 'memorandum of sale') including the price and your intention to sell.

Buying more shares

You can buy some of your home after you become the owner. This is known as “staircasing”. You can buy shares of 5% or more at any time.
If you bought your house in 2021 you may also be able to buy shares of 1% each year for the first 15 years. Ask your landlord if this applies to you. You cannot buy shares of 2%, 3% or 4%. The cost of your new share will depend on how much your home is worth when you want to buy the share. If you want to buy a share of 5% or more, you will need to pay for a valuation by a surveyor. The surveyor must be registered with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
If you want to buy a 1% share, the price will be based on the original price of your home, increased or decreased in line with the House Price Index (HPI). Your landlord will give you a HPI valuation at least once a year and whenever you ask to buy a 1% share.



Selling your home

If you own a share of your home, the landlord has the right to find a buyer for your home. The landlord also has the right to buy it first (known as 'first option to buy' or 'pre-emption').
You can also sell your share yourself if the landlord does not find a buyer and they do not want to buy it themselves. If you own 100% of your home, you can sell it yourself.



How to apply

To buy a shared ownership home, you need to register with the Help to Buy agent in the area where you want to live.



Information

Individual Savings
Accounts (ISAs)

Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) are tax efficient accounts for UK residents to save or invest to. Each tax year you get an ISA allowance, which sets the limit on how much money you can pay into ISAs. There are four types of ISA:

  • Cash ISAs

  • Stocks and shares ISAs

  • You own a home and want to move but cannot afford a new home suitable for your needs

  • Innovative finance ISAs

  • Lifetime ISAs

You will be eligible for shared ownership once you accept an offer for the sale of your current home ('sold subject to contract' or 'STC') or have the written confirmation of the sale agreed (a 'memorandum of sale') including the price and your intention to sell.

Buying more shares

You can buy some of your home after you become the owner. This is known as “staircasing”. You can buy shares of 5% or more at any time.
If you bought your house in 2021 you may also be able to buy shares of 1% each year for the first 15 years. Ask your landlord if this applies to you. You cannot buy shares of 2%, 3% or 4%. The cost of your new share will depend on how much your home is worth when you want to buy the share. If you want to buy a share of 5% or more, you will need to pay for a valuation by a surveyor. The surveyor must be registered with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
If you want to buy a 1% share, the price will be based on the original price of your home, increased or decreased in line with the House Price Index (HPI). Your landlord will give you a HPI valuation at least once a year and whenever you ask to buy a 1% share.



Selling your home

If you own a share of your home, the landlord has the right to find a buyer for your home. The landlord also has the right to buy it first (known as 'first option to buy' or 'pre-emption').
You can also sell your share yourself if the landlord does not find a buyer and they do not want to buy it themselves. If you own 100% of your home, you can sell it yourself.



How to apply

To buy a shared ownership home, you need to register with the Help to Buy agent in the area where you want to live.



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