Government-backed mortgage schemes

Although the Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee Scheme closed in December 2016, the Equity Loan scheme and the Shared Ownership scheme are still in operation.

Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme

This scheme, which is currently set to operate until March 2021, is designed to help those who only have a small amount available as a deposit and who want to buy a ‘new build’ property from a registered Help to Buy builder.

In England, the government will lend you up to 20% of the purchase price interest-free for the first five years, providing you can put down a deposit of at least 5%. In year six, you will be charged 1.75%, which climbs at a rate of 1% of that figure, plus any increase in inflation (measured by the Retail Prices Index), every year thereafter. In London, you can borrow up to 40% of the purchase price.

This means you will need a mortgage for 75% of the purchase price (or 55% if you’re buying in London) and this must be a repayment mortgage to qualify. The scheme is available on properties with a purchase price of up to £600,000.

The scheme operates slightly differently in Scotland, where the government takes a 15% stake and the property purchase price cannot be more than the threshold price, which for the tax years 2019/20 and 2020/21 is £200,000.

In Wales, the scheme applies on homes costing up to £300,000.

Help to Buy: Shared Ownership

This scheme helps those on lower incomes and first-time buyers who might not otherwise be able to get onto the housing ladder to purchase a property and is a cross between buying and renting.  Many of the major lenders will grant mortgages for a shared ownership home.

In England,under the scheme, you can buy between 25% and 75% of a property, with an option to purchase a bigger share of the property at a later date. You’ll need to take out a mortgage to pay for your share of the property’s purchase price and then pay rent on the remainder. So, for example, if a property within the scheme is worth £200,000 and you bought 50% of it, you will pay rent on £100,000. If the rent charged by the housing association share is charged at 3%, then you would pay £3,000 a year in rent, as well as repaying your mortgage.

Most of the properties available under the scheme are new build, but some are properties being resold by housing associations.

The rules of the scheme operate differently in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Why use Miles Rhodes

You’re protected

An important thing to understand is that when you receive mortgage advice, Miles Rhodes has a duty of care to you. We will recommend a suitable mortgage and be able to justify why the particular mortgage we have chosen is right for you.

In contrast, if you go directly to a high street mortgage lender, don’t take advice, and end up with a mortgage that later becomes unaffordable, you may not have so much legal recourse.

All our mortgage advisers are qualified

There’s an awful lot to think about when choosing the right mortgage. It’s not as simple as just opting for the cheapest fixed or tracker rate mortgage you can find!

Mortgage advisers have to be qualified to give you mortgage advice, whereas you may not get that kind of guarantee if you ring up a lender’s call centre.

We are on your side

Miles Rhodes will look for the best mortgage for you. We aren’t on the lender’s side, we are on yours, and we give you access to far more products than if you went direct.

You will get unbiased advice and will be able to choose from a range of lenders and subsequent products, rather than being restricted to the single range of the lender you go to.

 

We know the industry

Mortgage criteria has tightened massively over the last few years, with the Mortgage Market Review being the latest, and arguably widest-ranging, development.

It’s been designed to ensure borrowers can prove affordability, even in the event of a rate rise, and those extra checks have understandably increased application times.

Our Reviews

Harsh Paresh
1 month ago
I would recommend bhavin patel highly enough! From start to finish, he has been absolutely exceptional throughout my mortgage process. He was professional, knowledgeable, and always available to answer any questions i had. He explained everything clearly, kept me updated at every stage, and made what read more
Justin Goodman
2 days ago
Our advisor craig towle quite simply sourced the best deal for our circumstances. An open and honest approach that left no questions unanswered. I have been so pleased and will continue to use this company hopefully until our mortgage is cleared. Highly recommend to the point read more
Charlies k9 Angels Dog grooming salon
1 month ago
Brilliant service from start to finish with becky. I would highly recommend her.
Louise Rayner
8 months ago
Kevin has been advising us now for approximately 20 years, on mortgages and insurances, he has always been extremely helpful with all the advice he has given us, more recently so with advice and support following paul’s stroke and claims in relation to that. I have read more
Nicola
4 months ago
I rang kevin for advice and he could not have been more helpful. He explained everything fully and in such an easy-to-understand way. I left the conversation feeling confident that i now know what to do. I recommend miles rhodes wholeheartedly. Thank you so much.
Hannah Neale
2 weeks ago
Dave has been sorting our mortgage for the past 10 years and his expertise has been invaluable every time we have come to remortgage. We would never want to use anyone else and trust him and the team at miles rhodes implicitly. Thanks so much!

Want to know more?

To find out more or arrange a meeting with us, please call
01362 423042, or email contact@milesrhodes.net

Contact Us