Knowledge Centre

No, Allbricks is different from any government or housing association shared ownership scheme.

Firstly, you don’t need a mortgage, and we ask for a lower deposit than many mortgages too (1% of the property value or £10,000, whichever is higher).

There’s also greater flexibility around how you buy more of your home. Traditional shared ownership schemes often require you to take a fixed amount of equity at a set time. With Allbricks, you’ll get the chance to buy more whenever an investor decides to sell, because these opportunities will always be offered to you first.

And each time, it’s up to you to decide if (or how much) you want to buy. As a minimum, once three years is up, anyone who invested during crowdfunding must offer you 5% of what they own and that process repeats annually. Investors who buy from other investors once the crowdfunding is complete must offer you 5% of what they own after 12 months and that process also repeats annually.

Every month, some of your rent payment gets put straight into a dedicated maintenance fund so it’s ready to help with repair costs. You get a Property Manager too, so you can be sure that qualified people are helping to keep your home in great condition.

Allbricks is different from Rent to Buy, because you won't need to take out a mortgage after five years.

Rent to Buy schemes offer leases at below-market rents for up to five years to help you save for a deposit. But if you can’t get a mortgage to cover the rest of the purchase price when the lease expires (and at a price that’s often fixed in advance) then you could be asked to move out. And if that happens, you may also forfeit the initial fee you paid to join the scheme and lose the credit you’ve built up.

With Allbricks, you can buy more of your home gradually and renew your tenancy agreement for up to 20 years. At that point, you can decide whether to buy the rest of your home outright, seek replacement investors through a new crowdfunding campaign or ask us to put it on the market. If you choose to sell up, you’d get your share of the sale proceeds in proportion to the amount you own.

With Allbricks, you can currently buy a freehold property within the Greater London area (and we’re planning to expand to the rest of England too.

Whether you're a first-time buyer or making your next move, the home you pick must:

• be your main residence;
• have a market rent of at least £1,500 a month;
• need no structural work or major repairs that would cost more than £5,000;
• have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) that's rated D or above; and
• not be a listed building.

Yes, you can buy with one other person. You don’t need to put the same amount in to the deposit, because we’ll keep what you each own separate.

That’s why you’ll both need to sign up individually and pass all the required checks.

However, when we check affordability, we’ll base that on your joint gross annual income and the total amount that you deposit.

Both of you would be liable for paying the monthly rent (and if one of you were to not pay your share, the other person would have to). Then the rent rebate, which is the sum returned to you because you own part of the property already, would be paid to each of you individually in proportion to what you own.

Our minimum deposit is only 1% of the property purchase price (or £10,000, whichever is higher). That's a smaller deposit than many traditional mortgages require and there's no application fee either.

Before we start crowdfunding to raise the rest of the purchase price from the investors, you'll need to pay your deposit, your share of the stamp duty and our fees (which are 5% + VAT of your deposit).

You’ll also pay the cost of the survey, valuation and conveyancing, which you’d need to pay anyway if you were buying with a mortgage.

We'll calculate these amounts for you before you need to transfer any money.

Your right to buy more starts after three years, but you might get an offer even sooner. That’s because whenever an investor decides to sell, we give you 48 hours to decide how much (or if) you want to buy before it’s made available to other investors too.

As a minimum, three years after you move in, each investor who helped crowdfund your purchase must offer you 5% of what they own and keep doing that annually.

If new investors come on board after crowdfunding, for example because you chose not to buy when a previous investor sold up, these new investors only have to offer you 5% of what they own once they’ve held it for 12 months. If this happens, you’ll get offers at different times.

If you decide to buy more, the amount you’ll pay will depend on your home’s latest valuation, which is independently assessed. You’ll also pay some stamp duty (just on the extra share) and our fees are lower too, at 2% + VAT of the transaction value.

And remember, as you buy more of your home, you’ll pay out less each month.

There’s no cap on how much you can own, so the decision is yours. You can buy more gradually throughout your tenancy (which you can renew for up to 20 years, if you wish) or buy the rest of your home outright whenever suits you. 

Yes. You can sell your home at any point during your tenancy, which you can renew for up to 20 years, if you wish. We’d first ask the investors if they’d prefer to find a new home buyer (who would then pay you the current market value for the amount you own) or proceed to a sale. 

If the majority decision was to sell, we’d talk to a range of estate agents first. Then once the sale completes and the relevant agent’s commission is paid, you would receive your share of the proceeds in proportion to the amount of the property you owned. 

You'll know how much rent you’ll pay before we start the crowdfunding. To set it, we take independent advice on the market rent. We then hold it at that level for the first three years. 

Once three years are up, we check the market rent again and, if necessary, increase what you pay to match. We then repeat this process annually. 

Our unique approach puts you in the driving seat, and it's written in black and white in the contracts.

You can buy more of your home gradually. You can buy it outright at any time. You can even sell up whenever you want and take your share of the proceeds. You can make your own design choices too (as long as they don’t reduce your home’s value) and finally get that much-wanted pet.

Provided you keep up with the terms in your contracts, you can renew your tenancy for up to 20 years. At that point, you can decide whether to buy the rest of your home outright, seek replacement investors through a new crowdfunding campaign or ask us to put it on the market. If you choose to sell up, you’d get your share of the sale proceeds in proportion to the amount you own.

The cost of the stamp duty is split between you and the investors.

The amount you pay will be in proportion to the size of your deposit. So if you're putting down 1% of the total purchase price, you'll pay 1% of the stamp duty.

For this first transaction, you'll pay stamp duty at the higher rate. This is because the investors are likely to own property already, so it must be taxed like a second home.

When you buy more of your home direct from the investors, if stamp duty is payable, you'll pay it at the standard rate as long as your Allbricks home is your main residence.

We'll always calculate the costs for you before you need to transfer any money.

We’ve designed our maintenance programme to give you peace of mind.

You get a dedicated Property Manager, buildings insurance, regular gas/electrical safety inspections and an annual repairs budget. Just report a fault online to get started and this budget could be used to mend a broken window, for example, or fix some minor issues elsewhere.

Some things (like replacing light bulbs) will still be down to you, and we’ll provide a full breakdown of who’s responsible for what so you can be sure.

Over time, we’ll also build up a contingency pot to help with any unforeseen issues that wouldn’t be covered by insurance or the annual repairs budget.

Yes, you’re responsible for paying Council Tax to the relevant local authority from the day your home purchase completes. You’ll need to pay for your utilities too, like power, water and broadband.

Before you move in, we’ll sort your buildings insurance and make sure things like gas and electrical safety certificates are up to date.

Yes, you'll need to take out contents insurance 48 hours before you move in and renew it on an annual basis.

It's up to you which supplier you choose, but you'll need to have:

At least £35,000 worth of cover

An excess on the policy of £200 or less

You'll be responsible for maintaining this cover at all times, and your Property Manager will review this with you as part of the annual home check.

You don't need to take out any buildings insurance, because that comes as standard with every Allbricks home.

We arrange for two companies (called ‘nominee companies’) to hold the property in a trust. As trustees, they are registered at the Land Registry as the legal owners but they hold the property for the benefit of the brick owners.

The concept of “deeds” is old-fashioned and doesn’t apply to new purchases, with property ownership now proved by the relevant Land Registry entry and filings.