Affordable home ownership schemes for newly built homes
If you live in England and can’t afford to buy a flat or house, you may get financial help to buy a home.
There are two types of ‘HomeBuy’ schemes to help people buy newly built homes (in London, HomeBuy is known as ‘First Steps’):
- ‘equity loan’ - you get a loan towards the home’s purchase price that has no fees for five years
- ‘shared ownership’ - you buy a share of your home and pay rent on the remaining share
You will need to take out a mortgage to pay for your share of the home’s purchase price.
HomeBuy schemes are a first step to fully owning your home. When you can afford it, you can pay more money, eg through savings or your mortgage, to own your home outright.
You can read more about how the different HomeBuy schemes work in ‘equity loan – how it works’ and ‘shared ownership – how it works’.
Equity loans – who can get help?
To apply for an equity loan, contact the HomeBuy agent in the area where you want to live
Equity loans are available on certain newly built homes on specific housing developments across England.
The loans are provided through ‘HomeBuy agents’, who will decide if you can buy a home this way. HomeBuy agents are housing associations that have been authorised to run schemes for people who have difficulty buying a home.
You can only buy a home through an equity loan scheme if:
- your household earns £60,000 a year or less
- you can’t otherwise afford to buy a home in your area
A household is the number of people who are buying the home. For example, a household might be you alone or you and your partner.
Equity loans are open to:
- people who rent council or housing association properties
- first-time buyers (you are a first-time buyer if you haven’t owned a home before)
You can also get help through an equity loan if you used to own a home, but can’t afford to buy one now.
Shared ownership – who can get help?
To apply for a shared ownership home, contact the HomeBuy agent in the area where you want to live
The shared ownership scheme covers certain newly built homes across England.
The scheme is provided through ‘HomeBuy agents’, who will decide if you can buy a home this way. HomeBuy agents are housing associations that have been authorised to run schemes for people who have difficulty buying a home.
You can only buy a home through shared ownership if:
- your household earns £60,000 a year or less
- you can’t otherwise afford to buy a home in your area
A household is the number of people who are buying the home. For example, a household might be you alone or you and your partner.
Shared ownership is open to:
- people who rent council or housing association properties
- first-time buyers (you are a first-time buyer if you haven’t owned a home before)
You can also get help through shared ownership if you used to own a home, but can’t afford to buy one now.
Before you speak to anyone we would recommend you speak to one of our specialist mortgage consultants to get a clear idea of the costs involved and how much you are likely to be able to borrow.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
We will charge a broker fee of a maximum of £495 or 0.5% of the loan amount, whichever is higher, normally payable on application. Typically this will be £495.