Help to Buy is changing

- Mon 17 Feb 2020

The government Help to Buy scheme has helped thousands of people move in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset since its release in April 2013, but did you know it’s changing?

The Help to Buy scheme offers an equity loan, where the government lends first-time buyers and existing homeowner’s money to buy a newly-built home. The purchase price must be no more than £600,000 and is not available on second homes or investment properties. Under this scheme, you can borrow 20% of the purchase price interest-free for the first five years, as long as you have at least a 5% deposit.

Although the current scheme is available to both first time buyers and home movers, the last government figures show 81% of people using the scheme have been first time buyers.

So how is the scheme changing? The government has announced a new Help to Buy scheme to run from April 2021. This scheme is restricted to first-time buyers and includes regional property price caps to ensure the scheme reaches people who need it most. There are no changes to the current Help to Buy equity loan scheme, which runs to March 2021. So if you currently own a home and are looking to take advantage of this scheme, now is the time to act.

The new scheme is due to run from April 2021 to March 2023. As with the current scheme, the government will lend buyers up to 20% of the cost of a newly built home, so good news for first time buyers.

The Help to Buy scheme has helped hundreds of thousands of people get on to the housing ladder in recent years and it’s great that this looks set to continue for the next 3 years minimum.

Bradleys offer the largest selection of new homes in the South West, with specialist Mortgage advisors and Conveyancers, so if you want advice on the Help to Buy scheme or wish to start a property search, your local Bradleys office would be delighted to hear from you.

Kevin James - Director

Kevin James
Land and New Homes Director

Help to Buy is changing

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