Home Ownership

 

You may have the Right to Buy or the Right to Acquire your home if you have been a Magenta Living tenant for three years or more. Owning your home can be expensive, and only you can know if buying your home is the right decision.

Our Home Ownership Team deals with sales of Magenta Living homes and after sales service. Please  Contact Us  for any advice and information.

 

Right to Buy

You may be eligible to buy your home if -

  • You rent your home from us and have a secure tenancy. You will have a secure tenancy if you were a Wirral Council tenant who transferred to Wirral Partnership Homes/ Magenta Living
  • You don't live in sheltered housing, or other housing specifically for elderly or disabled people
  • You don't have any outstanding possession orders against you, and haven't breached the terms of your tenancy agreement.

The discount you receive will depend on how long you have held your tenancy for. Use the online calculator to see what discount you may be entitled to.

Check out the Right to Buy government booklet for further information.

 

Right to Acquire

You may be eligible to acquire your home if - 

  • You rent your home from us and have an assured tenancy. You will have an assured tenancy if you were a Wirral Partnership Homes/Magenta Living tenant after 2005
  • Your property was bought by Magenta Living after April 1997 with some government subsidy
  • The property you live in is not in a rural area
  • You don't live in sheltered housing, or other housing specifically for elderly or disabled people
  • You don't have any outstanding possession orders against you, because you have breached the terms of your tenancy agreement.

For the North West, the discount you will receive is £9,000.

Check out the Right to Acquire government website page for further information.

 

Can you afford to buy your home?

There are a number of costs to consider when buying your home, including -

  • Solicitor's costs, survey costs, mortgage arrangement fee
  • The cost of all repairs to the property
  • Arranging building insurance
  • Any service charges for maintaining communal or shared areas, depending on the property type.

 

Watch out for Right to Buy companies

We, and the Government, are concerned that tenants are talked in to Right to Buy commitments they cannot afford. In some cases, tenants are paying thousands of pounds for services that they are entitled to for free from Magenta Living under the Right to Buy rules. Please be wary, and Contact Us if you have any concerns.

 

Houses

Houses are sold freehold, and this means that once you have purchased your house, you become responsible for all of the costs associated with the upkeep and maintenance of the property.

 

Flats and Maisonettes

Flats and maisonettes cannot be sold freehold, but the long-term lease can be bought for a fixed period (usually 125 years).

Become a Leaseholder

If you buy your flat, you will buy the right to occupy that part of the building for a fixed period of 125 years.  This type of ownership is called leasehold.

If you become a leaseholder, we will continue to own the outside of the block and the communal areas of the building. We are responsible for the repair, maintenance and management of these areas, subject to a contribution from leaseholders. This contribution is called a Service Charge, which, for a standard block of flats, is around £700 a year.

The legal requirements around flats and leasehold property can sometimes be complicated. Our Home Ownership Team is happy to answer any queries you may have.  Please Contact Us