The Scottish Governments new First Home Fund has been introduced to help first time buyers purchase a home. There is a maximum amount of £25,000 available to all first-time buyers towards the purchase of a new build property.
First-time buyers are those who don’t own, or haven’t previously owned, a property in Scotland or anywhere else in the world.
To participate in this new scheme, you must have a minimum deposit of 5% of the purchase price of the property (subject to individual lender requirements) and your mortgage must be at least 25% of the purchase price.
Using this new scheme means the Scottish Government will have an equity share in your property, however, you will own the property outright. It’s important to be aware that there are no monthly repayments to be made towards the Scottish Government and there will be no interest charged.
The fund is available to all first-time buyers in Scotland who are taking out a mortgage. If you’re a cash buyer, you cannot apply for the scheme.
Some requirements buyers should be aware of include:
- £25,000 or 49% of the property valuation figure or purchase price (whichever is the lower amount) is the maximum contribution from the Scottish Government. If you purchase a property for less than the valuation figure, then the maximum Scottish Government contribution is £25,000 or 49% of the purchase price.
- The fund can be used as a contribution towards a property of any value as there is no maximum purchase price.
- You can submit a joint application, but you are limited to only one award and you can only make one application per property.
- Your mortgage must be at least 25% of the purchase price.
- You will need to fund at least 5% of the value of your new house from your own funds as a deposit.
- The mortgage you take out must be on a capital repayment basis.
- The property must be the sole residence of all applicants.
- You cannot use the fund to purchase a buy-to-let property.
- You cannot apply to other Scottish Government shared equity schemes (e.g. Help to Buy (Scotland) Affordable New Build, Help to Buy (Scotland) Smaller Developer, New Supply Shared Equity or Open Market Shared Equity) while also applying to this scheme. If you have an open application to any other shared equity scheme in Scotland, you must withdraw this before you apply to this scheme. However, you can use a Help to Buy ISA or Lifetime ISA as part of your deposit.
- A £550 administration fee is payable to the Scottish Government. This fee will be refunded if the application is unsuccessful.
This scheme is open until 31st March 2021 and is limited to Scottish Government budget of £150M.