Restrictions on movement after purchasing HTB property

Miranda25

AdrianC said:

Miranda25 said:

Any law regulations around it?

Of course, you don't HAVE to borrow their money, if you don't like the terms and conditions surrounding it.

What people you do if you live in HTB property and then you have a good offer to work somewhere abroad for 1-2 years please?

If you own a property in the UK with those kinds of terms surrounding it, why are you applying for jobs in another country?

I did not say that I don't like anything. I said that I am shocked. I am not from UK and even could not imagine that I should ask from somebody permission for how long I can travel. Am I child?
Anything else hidden on properties which is pretty obvious for other people?
I already know about renting, animals and movements :-))
I am not applying for any jobs. I can get chance to be relocated within my company in the UK.

GixerKate

Miranda25 said:

GixerKate said:

Miranda25 said:

Hi Guys,
Honestly I am shocked. I just received email from resales officer of Moat and she said "You cannot sublet your property and you should not be away from the property for more than 30 days, without discussing with us first."
I can understand restrictions on renting, animals..... I cannot understand at all restrictions on movement. Am I buying a prison? Why should I ask their permission for leaving my flat even for 6 months if I still continue to pay for everything in those flat? Who cares where I am? I might be in East Asia spending winter time there and then coming back to the UK. I might be somewhere outside of UK for work. I might be in another country to care of my old parents. Who cares where I am?
Anybody who has a property via help-to-buy and experienced something like that, please reply this thread. As this would completely change my views on buying property.
Any law regulations around it?
What people you do if you live in HTB property and then you have a good offer to work somewhere abroad for 1-2 years please? 
Many thanks.

Reading this thread and other similar threads you have posted it sounds like you are trying to decide whether to buy a property or continue to rent, as you are looking in and around London you are restricted to using the H2B scheme if you go down the route of buying a property.

A way to look at it, buying a property (especially using H2B) is putting down roots.  The H2B scheme is where they are paying up to 20% (or 40% of the value of the property) for you to help you buy a place that would normally be out of your reach, they essentially own that percentage of the property so will have conditions.  With that assistance (which is interest free for 5 years, you only need to pay £1 a month as a management fee) comes conditions such as it has to be your only place of residence and you can't sublet or leave it empty for long periods of time.

If you want the freedom to move around a lot or go abroad for months at a time perhaps renting would suit you better?  I would suggest that if you want to spend less than 5 years in a property then buying a place using H2B is probably not very suited to you.

Thank you GixerKate,
I am renting now in London and already spent time on trying to understand how HTB works (thank you for all the help on this forume). But I had no idea about restrictions on movement. Is this only for HTB schemes or for all leasehold properties in the UK?
My situation: I am working here but if opportunity is coming to work abroad I really do not want to miss the opportunity. Based on my documents I can only be for 2 years out of the UK and then should be back. I also would like to have my own place here, so what should I do? 

I'm in the process of buying a freehold house using the H2B so can't comment on leasehold considerations.  The 'Help to Buy Buyers' Guide states:
"The property purchased must be your only residence.  Help to Buy is not available to assist buy-to-let investors or those who will own any property other than their Help to Buy Property after completing their purchase.  You cannot rent out your existing home and buy a second home through Help to Buy"

Home insurance typically insists that you don't leave it empty for long periods and the H2B requires you to have buildings insurance in place from completion which is likely where the original statement comes from.

Now say you do purchase a place using H2B and two years down the line you get offered an amazing job opportunity abroad.  You can sell your property and at that time you would have to pay back the H2B equity loan, it would not be the amount you borrowed, it would be the percentage of the current value of the property.  So if you had a H2B equity loan of say, £50,000 and that was 20% of the value of the property at the time you bought the property.  When you sell up you would need to get the property valued and you would need to pay back 20% of the valuation.

I'll just point out now, I am not an expert in the field, I am just someone currently going through the process of buying a new build using H2B so happy to be corrected :-)

wilfred30

So given that you would not be allowed to sublet it, if you did work abroad for a year or two, what would you do with it?  Leave it empty?

Miranda25

GixerKate said:

Miranda25 said:

GixerKate said:

Miranda25 said:

Hi Guys,
Honestly I am shocked. I just received email from resales officer of Moat and she said "You cannot sublet your property and you should not be away from the property for more than 30 days, without discussing with us first."
I can understand restrictions on renting, animals..... I cannot understand at all restrictions on movement. Am I buying a prison? Why should I ask their permission for leaving my flat even for 6 months if I still continue to pay for everything in those flat? Who cares where I am? I might be in East Asia spending winter time there and then coming back to the UK. I might be somewhere outside of UK for work. I might be in another country to care of my old parents. Who cares where I am?
Anybody who has a property via help-to-buy and experienced something like that, please reply this thread. As this would completely change my views on buying property.
Any law regulations around it?
What people you do if you live in HTB property and then you have a good offer to work somewhere abroad for 1-2 years please? 
Many thanks.

Reading this thread and other similar threads you have posted it sounds like you are trying to decide whether to buy a property or continue to rent, as you are looking in and around London you are restricted to using the H2B scheme if you go down the route of buying a property.

A way to look at it, buying a property (especially using H2B) is putting down roots.  The H2B scheme is where they are paying up to 20% (or 40% of the value of the property) for you to help you buy a place that would normally be out of your reach, they essentially own that percentage of the property so will have conditions.  With that assistance (which is interest free for 5 years, you only need to pay £1 a month as a management fee) comes conditions such as it has to be your only place of residence and you can't sublet or leave it empty for long periods of time.

If you want the freedom to move around a lot or go abroad for months at a time perhaps renting would suit you better?  I would suggest that if you want to spend less than 5 years in a property then buying a place using H2B is probably not very suited to you.

Thank you GixerKate,
I am renting now in London and already spent time on trying to understand how HTB works (thank you for all the help on this forume). But I had no idea about restrictions on movement. Is this only for HTB schemes or for all leasehold properties in the UK?
My situation: I am working here but if opportunity is coming to work abroad I really do not want to miss the opportunity. Based on my documents I can only be for 2 years out of the UK and then should be back. I also would like to have my own place here, so what should I do? 

I'm in the process of buying a freehold house using the H2B so can't comment on leasehold considerations.  The 'Help to Buy Buyers' Guide states:
"The property purchased must be your only residence.  Help to Buy is not available to assist buy-to-let investors or those who will own any property other than their Help to Buy Property after completing their purchase.  You cannot rent out your existing home and buy a second home through Help to Buy"

Home insurance typically insists that you don't leave it empty for long periods and the H2B requires you to have buildings insurance in place from completion which is likely where the original statement comes from.

Now say you do purchase a place using H2B and two years down the line you get offered an amazing job opportunity abroad.  You can sell your property and at that time you would have to pay back the H2B equity loan, it would not be the amount you borrowed, it would be the percentage of the current value of the property.  So if you had a H2B equity loan of say, £50,000 and that was 20% of the value of the property at the time you bought the property.  When you sell up you would need to get the property valued and you would need to pay back 20% of the valuation.

I'll just point out now, I am not an expert in the field, I am just someone currently going through the process of buying a new build using H2B so happy to be corrected :-)

Many thanks GixerKate, it is probably a building insurance where I have to look at if I have some disagreements in future. Although it is different in my situation and building insurance will be for all flats in the property and not specifically for my flat.

Miranda25

wilfred30 said:

So given that you would not be allowed to sublet it, if you did work abroad for a year or two, what would you do with it?  Leave it empty?

Yes, I currently have a property back home which is empty (it is too nice and I don't want to rent it). I am using it when I am travelling back home and my relatives sometimes staying there. 
Do not tell me please that I am not eligible for HTB here as property back home I put on my mother's name.

[Deleted User]

Miranda25 said:

wilfred30 said:

So given that you would not be allowed to sublet it, if you did work abroad for a year or two, what would you do with it?  Leave it empty?

Yes, I currently have a property back home which is empty (it is too nice and I don't want to rent it). I am using it when I am travelling back home and my relatives sometimes staying there. 
Do not tell me please that I am not eligible for HTB here as property back home I put on my mother's name.

You don’t have a property back home then do you. Your mother does but you do not. 

Barny1979

As well as being empty and causing insurance issues, would the property be checked for condition etc by a friend during the potential 2 years? As empty properties potentially attract vandalism, damp etc,  that's why the company don't want the house vacant.

Miranda25

Lover_of_Lycra said:

@GixerKate HTB do not own a percentage of the property any more than the mortgage lender owns a share of the property. A HTB Equity Loan is a loan secured against the property just the same as a mortgage is a loan secured against the property and secured loans are not the same as owning a share of the property at all. 

@Miranda25 The HTB Equity Loan scheme is to help people by their home, their only home. Quite clearly if you are working abroad for a year or two the property purchased using HTB EL will not be your only home. It’s covered in the HTB guidance. If you don’t like the conditions of the loan then don’t take the loan. It’s that simple. 

https://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020.05-Help-to-Buy-Buyers-Guide-May-FINAL.pdf

Thank you.
But can anybody call it "home" if it is a temporary relocation?

[Deleted User]

Miranda25 said:

Lover_of_Lycra said:

@GixerKate HTB do not own a percentage of the property any more than the mortgage lender owns a share of the property. A HTB Equity Loan is a loan secured against the property just the same as a mortgage is a loan secured against the property and secured loans are not the same as owning a share of the property at all. 

@Miranda25 The HTB Equity Loan scheme is to help people by their home, their only home. Quite clearly if you are working abroad for a year or two the property purchased using HTB EL will not be your only home. It’s covered in the HTB guidance. If you don’t like the conditions of the loan then don’t take the loan. It’s that simple. 

https://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020.05-Help-to-Buy-Buyers-Guide-May-FINAL.pdf

Thank you.
But can anybody call it "home" if it is a temporary relocation?

“Only residence” that’s what the guidance says. It won’t be you’re only residence if you’re residing elsewhere, will it? 

jon81uk

Miranda25 said:

Hi Guys,
Honestly I am shocked. I just received email from resales officer of Moat and she said "You cannot sublet your property and you should not be away from the property for more than 30 days, without discussing with us first."
I can understand restrictions on renting, animals..... I cannot understand at all restrictions on movement. Am I buying a prison? Why should I ask their permission for leaving my flat even for 6 months if I still continue to pay for everything in those flat? Who cares where I am? I might be in East Asia spending winter time there and then coming back to the UK. I might be somewhere outside of UK for work. I might be in another country to care of my old parents. Who cares where I am?
Anybody who has a property via help-to-buy and experienced something like that, please reply this thread. As this would completely change my views on buying property.
Any law regulations around it?
What people you do if you live in HTB property and then you have a good offer to work somewhere abroad for 1-2 years please? 
Many thanks.

Are you sure you are looking at help to buy, not shared ownership?

Help to Buy is an equity loan to purchase a newbuild home.
I think Moat is a housing association and they offer shared ownership homes.
If you have spoken to a resales officer that sounds like it might be shared ownership? I would expect that sort of clause on a shared ownership as you are renting part of the cost from them and they wouldn't want the property to be empty for long periods in case of damage (water leak for example) and they wouldn't allow sublets.