Help to Buy new build help

htbftb

Hi All, first time buyer and poster so please be gentle!

I was looking to buy a new build flat that was due for completion in October 2015 using the Help to Buy equity loan scheme. This has now been pushed back until at least March 2016. From reading through the terms of the HTB scheme I'm trying to get my head around the timings and looking for some preemptive advice.

- Exchange of Contracts is due within 3 months of receipt of draft documentation by the my solicitors.
- The "authority to proceed" is only valid for 3 months (this expires 02/07/15)
- Before any exchange of contracts it needs to again be approved by the HTB people on the basis I have a mortgage offer in place/valuation conducted.

Even with leaving getting a mortgage to the very end of the three months I don't see how I could find one that would be valid through to March next year...where does this leave me and what can I do??

jaxkesa

I am in a similar situation. The time limits on Help to Buy applications seem to be a big obstacle in the way of using the scheme.

ethank

You have to exchange contracts within three months of getting ATP, and then you need to complete within six months of exchange. If the property was say ready on March 30 3016, you should not really exchange contracts before 1 July this year.

October 2015 to March 2016 is a massive slippage. Personally, I would not think it is worth applying for everything until such time as they are more sure about the build?

Why are they so late? It sounds like they have not even started building your property yet?

Kat88

Sounds odd to me and it isn't really fair for your developer to expect you to exchange for a property not ready for nearly a year. What they should be doing from my experience is an early bird reservation, with exchange to be completed when the property is 'released' nearer the time. I would go back to your developer and ask to put exchange on hold until nearer the time as timescales are too long for mortgages and HTB. It's also worth bearing in mind that my solicitor has informed me that once exchange of contracts occurs the HTB scheme has the money committed so you can reapply after the 3 month expiry. This is important as we were concerned worse case scenario that a change in government may have meant the end of the scheme and we wouldn't be able to renew the HTB, but still be committed to buying the property.