Government-Backed Mortgage Schemes

Although the Mortgage Guarantee scheme closed in December 2016, the Equity Loan scheme and the Shared Ownership scheme are still in operation.

Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme
This scheme, which is currently set to operate until 2021, is designed to help those who only have a small amount available as a deposit and who want to buy a ‘new build’ property from a registered Help to Buy builder.

In England, the government will lend you up to 20% of the purchase price interest-free for the first five years, providing you can put down a deposit of at least 5%. In year six, you will be charged 1.75%, which climbs at a rate of 1% of that figure, plus any increase in inflation (measured by the Retail Prices Index), every year thereafter. In London, you can borrow up to 40% of the purchase price. This means you will need a mortgage for 75% of the purchase price (or 55% if you’re buying in London) and this must be a repayment mortgage to qualify. The scheme is available on properties with a purchase price of up to £600,000.

The scheme operates slightly differently in Scotland, where the government takes a 15% stake and the maximum value of the property depends on the year in which your application is completed (for 2017/18, it’s £200,000 if completed on or before 31 March 2018, for 2018/19 it’s £175,000 if completed by 31 March 2019). In Wales, the scheme applies on homes costing up to £300,000.

Help to Buy: Shared Ownership
This scheme helps those on lower incomes and first-time buyers who might not otherwise be able to get onto the housing ladder to purchase a property, and is a cross between buying and renting. Many of the major lenders will grant mortgages for a shared ownership home.

Under the scheme, you can buy between a quarter and three-quarters of a property, with an option to purchase a bigger share of the property at a later date. You’ll need to take out a mortgage to pay for your share of the property’s purchase price and then pay rent on the remainder. So, for example, if a property within the scheme is worth £200,000 and you bought 50% of it, you will pay rent on £100,000. If the rent charged by the housing association share is charged at 3%, then you would pay £3,000 a year in rent, as well as repaying your mortgage.

The above will be subject to a RICS mortgage valuation. A mortgage valuation is undertaken by your lender to assess whether the property is sufficient security for your loan.

Most of the properties available under the scheme are new build, but some are properties being resold by housing associations. The rules of the scheme operate differently in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

We don’t tend to publish mortgage rates on our website. In most cases rates are negotiable and based squarely on the individual circumstances of the borrower, their plans, assets and income.

Firco is an independent mortgage broker that has strong relationships with the key lenders in the UK mortgage market, including those private banks who do not have a high-street presence. We arrange bespoke mortgage solutions for our clients, providing a tailored one-to-one advisory service, delivered face-to-face or remotely, depending on what suits you.

Please click on ‘Become a Client, Enquire Now’ at the bottom of the page and complete the enquiry form and we will normally contact you within the same working day during business hours or if you would prefer us to contact you outside normal business hours then please advise and we will quite happily do so. Alternatively you can email us with details about your requirements to info@fircogroup.co.uk or call us on 0151 372 0388

YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE OR ANY OTHER DEBT SECURED ON IT.

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