LIFT Scheme Scotland

kelly17687

Hi there,

I wonder if anyone can give me some advice on the LIFT Scheme in Scotland. My partner and I have requested an application pack from Link Housing and I just wondered what the timescales etc are that people who have used the scheme have experienced (with regard to how quickly a decision is made on your application etc)?

Any comments/advice about the LIFT Scheme are appreciated!

Thanks

nikki2804

Im at the point of waiting for my mortgage decision.

It took approx 3-4 weeks to receive the application pack. I received it in a Friday, had it completed and all relevant information gathered (DIPs and solicitors details) by the Tuesday. They received it on the Wednesday (recorded delivery)

Broker advised a 2 week turn around, it was more like 4 weeks to get the passport letter. They are running about a month behind unfortunately.

Once you have decided on a house the details need to be forwarded to LIFT to confirm they are happy its meets the criteria (before you can offer) Took a week and a half for me to get the approval letter through.

Its not the quickest process but worth it.

kelly17687

Thanks. We only asked for the pack last week so seems we'll have another couple of weeks to wait then. Is there anything we should be doing now?

It's all totally new to me, we don't even really know the criteria for being accepted, I asked on the phone and was told that they would just look at our salaries and that we would need some form of deposit, we don't have much behind us (just over enough to cover fees) so trying to save as much as we can just now.

nikki2804

What region are you in?

There is one mortgage provider who will lend with no deposit, thats who we are going with. Its Skipton BS.

Fee's wise we need around £3000 but we are paying stamp duty on our house (well hopefully if it all goes to plan)

Find a broker that deals with LIFT applications. Caeser and Howie seem to be the big one that do it but they couldn't fit us in so we ended up with a small local firm. Our broker has been fantastic so I can't complain, he charges £250 to complete the form and get the mortgage etc. We also went with his recommendation for a solicitor. Solicitor fees are slightly higher because of the third party involved. Seem to range from 1k to 1.5k.

You also need P60s, 3 months wage slips, tenancy agreements etc.

kelly17687

We're in Midlothian so the application will go through Link Housing Association.

I'll have a look into brokers and give some a call. Just worried that we'll get our hopes up and not be accepted, the joys of house buying!

nikki2804

If your Lothians then you will come under the same criteria as we did in regards to house size and price. As FTB with a 4 year old and a baby on the way we were entitled to a 5 'apartment' house upto 155k.

Income wise you need to be able to secure a mortgage for a minimum of 60% of the purchase price. If LIFT accept you they will tell you how much they expect in contribution.

LIFTs contribution is an equity loan which needs t o be paid back within 19 years it is interest free though. We plan to up our percentage each time we renew our mortgage so hopefully we'll own 100% before the 19 years is up.

A good broker would be able to explain the full scheme to you. I found it really hard to find a lot of information online.

Remember to act quickly though, they only have limited funding anf could run out at any point.

moncrieffy

Hi,

I am trying to get a house through the lift scheme too.
I got my application in just over a week ago and i emailed them to confirm that it was received and i got a reply saying that there is currently a 4-6 week wait on processing them and then i will get my acceptance or decline letter. If its approved i have 12 weeks to find a house and have an offer accepted, Its not long!

The application took a while to fill in to get all the detials they wanted.
Fingers crossed i get it otherwise i cant buy a house!
I got the best mortgage quote from halifax, who only need a 5% deposit. If i used the mortgage to buy a house myself (without the help of the lift scheme) they said i would need a 15% deposit.

Any other updates from others using the LIFT scheme?

kelly17687

I got my application pack yesterday eventually! We have an appointment with First Mortgage on Saturday to get it all filled in. Have you started looking at properties yet?

We have a maximum 5% deposit as well so hoping we can get a mortgage that will accept that.

nikki2804

We're finally nearing the end of the process. We applied for the application form in May just to give you an idea of timescales. They aren't kidding about the 4-6 week backlog.

We are just waiting for the formal mortgage offer and then that should hopefully allow us to get a fixed completion date.

Will be worth it in the end but I've been stressing out since the initial application lol.

Most of the rates seem to be good at the moment. We got a rate of 1.98% with no deposit. I'm certainly not complaining at that.

Bear in mind that the solicitor fee's will be a bit higher as it involves a third party (LIFT), you need life insurance, the buildings insurance has to be through a company approved by the Scottish Ministers etc. Oh and home reports are only valid for 3 months, luckily we managed to get the 'vendors' (a house builder as part exchange) to pay for it to be refreshed. Then there is the mortgage application fee - all adds up.

kelly17687

You must be so relieved it's all almost over with. I feel stressed already and I've only just received the application!!

If we could get a mortgage with no deposit it would be perfect, that way we can use the money we've already saved for fees etc. If not, we're hoping for a 5% deposit.

Once LIFT had approved you was it quite straight forward from there? I know everyone's situation is different but it's just good to see how others have got on.

nikki2804

If you have savings over 5k then anything over that amount they will expect you to put forward as a deposit. We had 3k so were not required to put anything down although if the lender had of declined we would have begged and borrowed the 5%. Only one lender does it with no deposit.

I'm so happy its near the end. At 38 weeks pregnant I was hoping it would be done and dusted by now but its dragging on unfortunately. Its now 3 weeks since we did the full mortgage application and the fee was only taken on Monday. Hopefully it should be done soon.

I wouldn't start looking at houses until you have your passport letter. From experience it was gutting watching 'perfect' houses come on the market to then sell quickly. Even after you get the letter you then need LIFTs permission to put in an offer and it means waiting for another week or so. Our broker was fantastic though and the solicitor put in the offer subject to scheme approval which was luckily accepted.

Prepare yourself for a long wait and if its goes quicker then thats a bonus!