About 80% of householders in England now own their own homes.
Traditionally, they have been regarded as a self-reliant group who
can meet their own needs. However, if their personal circumstances
change through ill health or loss of employment, the support
available to them is limited. Additionally, the availability of
mortgage finance to help people move to a more suitable home is
restricted to those who have an adequate income.
Springboard has considerable experience of working with
homeowners, either helping them to repair or adapt their homes, or
moving them to more suitable accommodation.
Springboard can help by purchasing a suitable property, chosen by
the customer. Subject to survey and valuation, we will consider
most properties on the market in our operational area, up to a cash
limit. It does not have to be on an estate that we already manage.
This means that customers have a far greater choice of where they
live, so it is far more likely that they can move to a property or
area that meets all of their requirements.
We can then simultaneously sell them a shared ownership lease,
which they usually buy using equity from their former property.
They will pay a rent for the share bought by Springboard. As they
now pay rent rather than a mortgage, they may be able to claim
housing benefit to help meet the costs. We can sometimes take on
responsibility of repairs too, as part of the
arrangement.