Help to buy

The Help to Buy scheme is a Government initiative that makes buying your first home that little bit easier. A low 5% deposit and up to 40% equity loan can help first-time buyers on their first step of the property ladder.

There is a lot of information you can research online about Help to Buy but we thought it would be helpful to collate some questions from some of our recent visitors, answering queries direct from real people looking to buy their first home.

Read on to find out more about Help to Buy in London, with helpful answers from our Sales Team.

 

  • Help to Buy is a Government scheme to enable first time buyers to get on the property ladder. With a loan of up to 40% of the property’s value from Homes England it aims to makes things much more affordable. As well, the scheme means you only have to pay a 5% deposit, making that savings goal a little more realistic for many people.

  • Help to Buy is available on homes up to the purchase price of £600,000 in London.

  • It’s £500.

  • There is no salary cap to qualify from Help to Buy but we would suggest you seek financial advice. You can request your mortgage broker to check the Help to Buy affordability checker to see if you qualify.

  • You can pay off all or part of your equity loan any time before then.

    At any time, you can make part repayments of at least 10% of what your home is worth.

  • You have to be a first-time buyer to take up the scheme.

  • Yes, it’s interest-free for 5 years.

  • The current Help to Buy scheme runs until the 31st March 2023.

How to apply

Once you have Reserved an eligible property:

  1. Apply online through the Help to Buy agent.

  2. The Help to Buy agent will assess your eligibility for the scheme and issue an Authority to Proceed

  3. Authority to Proceed allows you to apply for a repayment mortgage and progress your application to exchange of contracts, where the Help to Buy agent will issue an Authority to Exchange

  4. Once all the paperwork and dates are agreed and the home is built (practical completion), the Help to Buy agent will issue a Transaction Confirmation. This allows legal completion and funds to be transferred to the homebuilder.

  5. After legal completion, the Help to Buy agent passes your details to the equity loan administrator to manage the equity loan account until it is paid in full.