The Help to Buy Scheme Thread

Saronn

Hi I wanted to start a new thread regarding the new Help to Buy Scheme.
I thought this would help people wanting more info on the scheme and somewhere we could all discuss the scheme.

Today I rang the Homebuy agents that deal with the scheme and they really couldn't provide me with much detail and told me to read this:
http://www.orbithomebuyagents.co.uk/mediaFiles/downloads/55418278/Help%20to%20Buy%20Buyers%20Guide%20270313.pdf

I rang Barclays and they don't have a clue about the scheme and don't know if they'll ever be on it.

Does anyone know any other info? Have you spoken to any lenders that know about the scheme and are part of it?

Any knowledge will be highly appreciated & could help someone else.

kingstreet

HTB is simply a rebranded version of FirstBuy. Barclays/Woolwich does lend on shared equity, so they will lend on this and the other FirstBuy lenders will simply continue to lend on HTB.

The HCA Homebuy agent for the area in question will take the application once the applicant has a property in mind. The builder must also accept shared equity and be on the "panel" as many are.

The HCA Homebuy Agent for the Midlands and East is Orbit, in the South East, Catalyst. We're on the broker panel for both of them.

HTB is a second charge loan over the subject property of upto 20% of the purchase price. The buyer has to out down at least 5% deposit on top of that and the mortgage would then be 75%.

The loan is interest-free for five years. In year 6, 1.75%pa is payable on amonthly basis and this increases each year at a rate of RPI + 1%. If RPI is 6%, the rate goes from 1.75% to 1.86% then 1.97% and so on.

The loan is repaid on the sale of the property and it is the percentage of the then value repaid, not the actual amount. So, if you buy a £100,000 property with a 20% loan, if the property goes up in value to £120,000 you'll repay 20% of £120,000, or £24,000.

CrispyUK

That's interesting kingstreet, I've been speaking to a broker today who has told me that Nationwide (who loan on shared equity) are not opting in to the HTB scheme so the current best rate is 3.89% with Halifax.

This surprised me as I've come across Nationwide's intermediary pages whilst Googling and they seem to suggest they'd accept any form of shared equity provided the equity holder is government/LA/builder based and not an individual.

kingstreet

Only Halifax has signed up to it in its first week, but the chances of Nationwide, Barclays, NatWest and Leeds missing out on this are slim and none. Nationwide and Barclays in particular have too much invested in expanding their lending under their FLS commitments.

I can't imagine why any of the lenders accepting FirstBuy wouldn't roll-over onto accepting HTB. It would make no sense. I guess we'll just have to wait and see...

maddocks_2

My titbit after getting to the Approval in Principle stage - the eligibility criteria according to the advisor we've been using is that your mortgage payment (plus other credit card debt and loans, O/D doesn't count) needs to be 30-45% of your overall income. Less than 30% you don't get the loan, and at the lower bounds (30 to don't know, we were 30.5%) you only get a 15% loan, not a 20% one. So it's a tightrope ensuring you do *get* the help between also being accepted for the mortgage at all.

You call a hotline, work through there. Currently Halifax only, will hopefully get more.

CrispyUK

Good to hear from someone else doing it. What's the deal on Halifax's HTB mortgage? I was told the 3.89% rate but not how long the fix is!

maddocks_2

CrispyUK wrote: »

Good to hear from someone else doing it. What's the deal on Halifax's HTB mortgage? I was told the 3.89% rate but not how long the fix is!

25 years. afaik they're not doing over 25 years, but they're happy to make the term shorter (eg to 24 or 23 years) to "push" you into the scheme acceptance.

brit1234

Saronn wrote: »

Hi I wanted to start a new thread regarding the new Help to Buy Scheme.
I thought this would help people wanting more info on the scheme and somewhere we could all discuss the scheme.

Hi

The main thread and discussion on Shared equity (First buy/New buy, Help to buy) is below.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3177256

orcocan

do builders who sign up to the scheme have to offer this option on all their properties? Does anybody know?

I'd be potentially interested in properties in London but I've inquired on a couple of developments (by major builders) and I got told the scheme will not be available on those developments. Does anyone know how to obtain a list of developments that will be available under the scheme? Thanks