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Shared home ownership programme

What is it all about?

Our shared home ownership programme provides support for people to purchase their own home by sharing the cost. It is designed for families who want to own their own home but cannot afford to buy on their own without a reasonable level of financial and non-financial support.

Dwell’s shared home ownership programme, Own Well, first started in 2014, and was the first to operate in Wellington. It is based on other successful programmes run in New Zealand.

How shared home ownership works

It is really quite easy.

  • You buy into the home provided by Dwell at a percentage of the market price. This is usually between 70% and 90% of the price of the home. It is based on what you can afford, which will be determined by an analysis of your finances.
  • Dwell owns the remaining share of the home (for example, 30%) and acts as a silent co-partner in homeownership.
  • You raise the deposit and obtain a mortgage from a bank to pay your share. Your deposit can come from a withdrawal from your KiwiSaver, your savings, or a mix of both. You might also be eligible for the First Home Grant.
  • You are responsible for mortgage repayments plus all other costs of ownership (for example, you will need to pay the full cost of rates, insurance, maintenance).
  • You will increase your share over time by buying 5% of Dwell’s share, until you own to 100% and Dwell will no longer be a co-owner.
  • But if you decide to move before you own 100%, you sell your share back to Dwell. The value of the house will be based on an independent valuation. And if Dwell does not wish to buy it, you can sell the property on the open market.
  • The sales price is then shared in proportion to ownership (if you own 80% of the house at the time, 80% of the sales price will go to you, and 20% will go to Dwell).

sho figure

This is an example of how it might work.

Shared home ownership availability

Currently we have no new homes available in our Own Well shared home ownership programme. However, we are working to restart our programme and make it available to eligible households.