The Money Flyer
The Help to Buy : equity loan scheme
Sharon Bett
What you need to know before you go ahead
What is the Help to Buy : equity loan scheme ?
The Help to Buy : equity loan scheme is a Government backed programme designed to help people who have smaller deposits to buy a newly built home in England . The scheme is managed by the Homes and Communities Agency ( HCA ) who are the national housing regeneration agency for England .
With a Help to Buy : equity loan : You own 100 % of the property , it ’ s available if you ’ re buying your first home or moving home but It ’ s only available on new build houses and flats / apartments .
Do you qualify under the scheme ?
• The property you want to buy must be a newly built property in England .
• Check to see if the property is included in the scheme , if in doubt , speak to the builder or developer about whether they take part in the scheme .
• The price of the property must be £ 600,000 or less .
• It must be your only property .
• You need to have saved a deposit of at least 5 % of the purchase price .
How does the scheme work ?
An equity loan is offered by the Government to anyone looking to buy a newly built property . You need to have a deposit of at least 5 % of the property ’ s value . The Government provides an equity loan of up to 20 % of the property ’ s value . You then take a mortgage to cover the remaining value of the property , up to 75 %. However , if you ’ re buying a home in a London borough , you could get an equity loan of up to 40 % of the property value . You ’ d then need to take a mortgage for the remaining value of the property , up to 55 %. The equity loan is interest free for the first five years , after which you ’ ll be charged interest . You can start to pay back your equity loan at any time , the minimum amount you can pay back is 10 % of the value of your property at the time the payment is made .
Once you have found a suitable new build property with a participating , registered builder you will need to complete a property information form and reservation form with the builder , you will then be issued with the Authority to Proceed ( ATP ) at this point you can apply for your Help to Buy mortgage .
It is not compulsory for you to use the developers in house mortgage broker or solicitor despite the pressure that you may find yourself put under . If you would like more information , why not call to arrange a free no obligation consultation .
Funeral director appointed as new chair of Felixstowe Dementia Action Alliance
David Button
A new chairman has been appointed at the Felixstowe Dementia Action Alliance ( FDAA ) as their third anniversary approaches .
David Button , known to many through his role as independent funeral director , has taken over chairmanship of the Felixstowe Dementia Action
Alliance . Replacing Helen Greengrass in the role , David is looking forward to developing plans for the Alliance : “ Our plan is to work with the community , young and old , to make a dementiafriendly generation , whilst raising awareness of its effects on the person and family carers .
David continues : “ While raising awareness and offering support will always be important , we must go further to create change in communities . Whether big or small , actions can make everyday life better for people living with dementia .”
Felixstowe is pioneering in its commitment to become a dementia friendly town and currently there are over 40 alliance members and over 800 dementia friends in town . “ But ,” says David , “ how great would it be if by this time next year , we ’ d increased these numbers by 10 %?”
The Felixstowe Dementia Action Alliance was formed in 2015 to act against dementia in the community .
Time for a break ?
See our new puzzle page on page 41
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