Help to buy

At Rose & Rose we are experienced in all aspects of Property Law including working with first time buyers and buyers wishing to move up the property ladder. The new Government scheme ‘Help to Buy’ is the latest scheme that enables buyers to have the opportunity to purchase properties with a greatly reduced deposit. This represents a very exciting time for buyers.

Help to Buy is an equity loan from the Homes and Communities Agency (‘HCA’) which is funded by the Government. The aim is to make new build homes available for purchase by everyone (not just first time buyers).

Some basic facts:

• The scheme is for new build houses in England and the developer must be registered with the HCA;

• The maximum purchase price is £600,000;

• The property must be your only residence and the only property that you own (it is not available for buy-to-let);

• The equity loan is any amount up to 20% of the purchase price (of course you can ask for a loan of less than this amount);

• You must take out a mortgage with a Bank or Building Society and this must be on a repayment basis.

So, the total purchase price will be made up like this:

• Mortgage

• Cash (your contribution)

• HCA Loan

Another great feature of the loan is that it is interest free for the first five years and only becomes repayable when you sell the property.

Repayment:

When it comes to repayment, the amount due is the same percentage that you borrowed and this is taken from the sale proceeds. For example, if you purchased a property for £200,000 and borrowed a 20% loan from the HCA then you must repay to them £40,000 when the property is sold, if the property is sold for the same amount that you purchased it for. If the property value increases to £220,000 then you must repay to the HCA £44,000 however, if the property value falls to £180,000 then you must repay only £36,000.

We can provide you with a fixed fee for this service so you will know exactly what costs you will need to pay.

We make property law easy to understand by speaking your language so please contact a member of our team below to discuss any properties matters including the Help to Buy Scheme or email info@roselegal.co.uk