Everything you'd like to know

You rent the home you'd like to buy on an assured periodic tenancy. Separately, you can sign an option to purchase agreement, giving you the right to buy that home at a price agreed before you sign. You save your deposit while you live there, and buy when you can get a mortgage.

People with a steady income who can't get a mortgage yet, or don't meet a lender's criteria today. For example:

• Self-employed people with under two years of accounts
• People new to a job or still in a probation period
• People with past defaults or county court judgments that are now settled
• People moving to the UK from overseas, building a UK credit history
• People later in life, who can find mortgages harder to get
• People who've recently separated or divorced

You'll need to be able to pay your rent and save each month comfortably, and an independent mortgage broker needs to see a realistic route to a mortgage within the option term.

It can. Lenders often have age limits on how long a mortgage can run, so it can take longer to find the right one later in life. Rent-to-buy gives you time to settle into the home and get your plans in order. An independent mortgage broker will look at the age limits with you right at the start, so we only go ahead if there's a realistic route to a mortgage within the option term.

Yes. Many lenders want to see time living in the UK and a UK credit history before they'll offer a mortgage. Rent-to-buy lets you live in the home you want to buy while you build that history, and an independent broker will tell you what lenders are likely to need and when.

Before you go ahead, we'll check your ID, your income, your credit and that you can afford the rent and your savings comfortably. We'll also ask where any savings or money you're putting in come from, as the law requires. An independent mortgage broker then looks at your situation, so we all know there's a realistic route to a mortgage.

We're starting in East Anglia, from King's Lynn to Ipswich. Register your interest with the area you'd like, and we'll let you know when we have homes there.

Yes. Before you sign, you'll have the agreed price for each year of the option in writing, so you always know what you'd pay. It rises a little each year, so buying sooner usually costs less.

Yes. You can decorate, keep pets, look after the garden and make small improvements. Bigger changes, like a new kitchen or taking down a wall, need our written agreement first.

Not yet. Until your purchase completes and the home is registered in your name at HM Land Registry, the owner is still the legal owner. You look after the home day to day, and the owner and we keep the legal responsibilities, such as gas and electrical safety, insurance, structural repairs and major repairs.

No. The option to buy is a right, never an obligation. You can carry on renting, or leave, like any tenant.

Your option ends when your tenancy ends. Your savings are yours and go with you. Your tenancy deposit comes back, less any deductions for damage or unpaid rent. The option fee isn't refunded.

Your lender might not lend the full amount. If that happens, we'll talk to you about reducing the price to the valuation, and the details will be in your documents before you sign.

No. It depends on you being able to get a mortgage when the time comes. That's why an independent broker looks at your situation before you start and reviews it with you every year, and why we'll tell you honestly if we don't think it's right for you.