With house prices continuing to rise, saving for a deposit to either buy your first home or to enable you to move continues to be a struggle for many.
There are a number of schemes that the government have introduced in recent years that are aimed at helping people move onto or up the property ladder. If you can use one of these schemes, lenders will still want to ensure you can meet affordability and mortgage payments. Whilst many of these schemes target First Time Buyers there are options out there for people looking to move, particularly into new build properties.
There are a number of schemes that fall under the Help to Buy or shared ownership & available to help you buy you home
Help to Buy or Equity Loan Scheme as its also known is available to both First Time Buyers & Existing Home Owners
- Available for New Build homes only
- The purchase price must be under £600,000
- London: You can borrow 40% of the purchase price interest free for upto 5 years
- Rest of England: You can borrow 20% of the purchase price interest free for upto 5 years
- You must have a 5% deposit
Who is eligible for these Help to Buy Schemes?
Equity loans are available to first time buyers as well as homeowners looking to move. The home you want to buy must be newly built with a price tag of up to £600,000.
You won’t be able to sublet this home or enter a part exchange deal on your old home. You must not own any other property at the time you buy your new home with a Help to Buy: Equity Loan.
There have been changes to the Help to Buy Scheme
Budget 2018 announced that the Help to Buy scheme would be coming to an end in March 2023.
A new version of the Help to Buy scheme will operate from 1 April 2021 until 31 March 2023 which introduces changes to ensure the scheme is better targeted towards those who most need support to achieve home ownership. The key changes are:
- The scheme will only be available for first time buyers, defined as those who haven’t previously owned or purchased property.
- The scheme will introduce regional property price caps based on local markets, which will set the maximum price of a new build home that can be bought with Help to Buy in any region.
Region Price cap for properties eligible for Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme from April 2021 to March 2023:
Region |
category 2 |
---|---|
Nort East |
£186,100 |
Nort West |
£224,400 |
Yorkshire and The Humber |
£228,100 |
East Midlands |
£261,900 |
West Midlands |
£255,900 |
East of England |
£407,400 |
London |
£600,000 |
South East |
£437,600 |
South West |
£349,000 |
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage