What is Help to Buy: Equity Loan?
Help to Buy: Equity Loan is a scheme backed by the Government to help first time buyers get onto the property ladder.
Through Help to Buy: Equity Loan, you only need to raise a 5% deposit, and can access up to 20% (or up to 40% in London) of the property price through an equity loan. You pay no interest on the loan for the first five years – and will only require a 75% mortgage (or 55% in London) to cover the cost of your home, and you’ll own 100% of your new Hill home.
How does it work?
• Available exclusively to first time buyers
• There are different regional price caps for the maximum property price you can pay
• You can buy a new home at participating developments with a price under the regional cap
• The scheme is for owner occupiers only
• The scheme is closing on 31st October 2022
Regional Price Caps
North East - £186,100
North West - £224,400
Yorkshire and the Humber - £228,100
East Midlands - £261,900
West Midlands - £255,600
East of England - £407,400
London - £600,000
South East - £437,600
South West - £349,000
Benefits of the scheme
• You only need a 5% deposit
• There’s no upper limit on your household income
• The Government lends you up to 20% (or 40% for London) as an equity loan
• The equity loan is interest-free for the first 5 years
• You can access competitive lending rates for up to a 75% (or 55% in London) mortgage deal
• You can pay back the equity loan at any time or when you sell your home
Henry and Laura's Story
Having rented a property in London for over three years, Henry and Laura wanted to step onto the property ladder. In the lead up to buying their first home, they thought they'd have to make significant compromises on location, property type and size to suit their budget. After searching in a variety of areas, the first-time buyers were able to secure their dream home with Hill, thanks to a helping hand from the Government's London Help to Buy scheme, without making any compromises!
“Being in the property industry ourselves, we’re pretty savvy about the options available to us and wanted to make sure that we bought the right home in the perfect location. We looked around quite a lot of developments which offered homes through Help To Buy, but none compared to the finish available at Fish Island Village”, comments Laura.
Find out how the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme can help you by downloading our handy guide.
