Homebuy is the Government's
scheme to help people get a foot on the property ladder.
There are three types of Homebuy scheme:
- New Build Homebuy, where you share part of the ownership of your home
with a housing association;
- Open Market Homebuy, where you part-buy a property and get a loan
from the Government for the rest; and
- Social Homebuy, where housing association and local authority tenants
are helped to buy their current home.
Some Housing Associations act as one-stop shops for allocating Homebuy properties in particular areas. These Housing Associations are called Homebuy Agents. Find the Homebuy Agent for the area you want from the list below:
| London | All areas | Housing Options | ||
| South East | Hampshire | HomesinHants | ||
| Other areas | Homebuy.co.uk | |||
| South West | Avon; Gloucestershire; North Somerset and Wiltshire. | New Futures | ||
| Devon and Cornwall and West Somerset | Home2own | |||
| Dorset and South Somerset | MyPlace | |||
| West Midlands | Hereford and Worcester | West Mercia | ||
| Other areas | Mercian | |||
| East Midlands | Derbyshire, Leics. and Notts. | E M Homebuy | ||
| Lincolnshire | home2you | |||
| Northamptonshire | Keyhomes-east | |||
| East of England | Beds and Cambs. | Keyhomes-east | ||
| Essex | Homebuy.co.uk | |||
| Hertfordshire | Lea Valley Homes | |||
| Norfolk and Suffolk | Orbit | |||
| North West | Cheshire | Riverside | ||
| Cumbria | Affordable -homes | |||
| Lancashire and Manchester | Plumlife | |||
| Merseyside | Homes hub | |||
| North East | Nomad | |||
| Yorkshire and the Humber | North Yorkshire and Humberside | Joseph Rowntree | ||
| South and West Yorkshire | Space Property |
For a map with links to all of the Homebuy Agent Housing Associations in England, please click here.
To read more information from the Housing Corporation on buying an affordable home click on the logo link below:
THE NEW HOMEBUY SCHEME
The Homebuy scheme enables social tenants, key workers and other
first time buyers to buy a share of a home and get a first step on the
housing ladder. The Government aims to help around 100,000 households to own
their own home by 2010.
There are three Homebuy products based on equity sharing to offer people a
choice in the type of home they can buy
Social HomeBuy
This scheme provides new opportunities for tenants who do not have the Right
to Buy or Right to Acquire, or who cannot afford it, to buy a share in their
rented home.
Tenants of participating landlords will be able to purchase a minimum
initial share of 25 per cent of a home. The remainder of the equity will be
retained by their landlord who will be able to levy a charge of up to 3 per
cent of the capital value of their retained equity. A lower target average
for the charge will be set at 2.75 per cent.
Buyers will receive a discount on the initial share purchase. This will be
the Right to Acquire discount (generally between £9,000 and £16,000 -
depending upon the local authority area in which the property is located),
pro-rata to the share purchased.
Participation in the scheme is voluntary but the Government is encouraging
landlords to offer it. At least initially, there will be some flexibility in
the precise terms of the scheme to ensure that providers can make it work
both for themselves and for buyers, and to trial different products.
Receipts generated by Social HomeBuy sales will generally be used to provide
more social lettings. A small proportion may be spent on other housing
related projects.
The previous Voluntary Purchase Grant scheme for housing association tenants
is subsumed within the Social HomeBuy scheme allowing tenants to buy 100 per
cent equity in their home at discount if they can afford to do so.
Some, but not all, properties which do not qualify for the Right to
Buy/Right to Acquire schemes may be offered for sale under Social HomeBuy.
There are some exemptions, including properties in designated rural areas
and groups of properties for people with long term disabilities or special
needs, which are exempt from the Right to Acquire scheme and which landlords
will not be able to sell under Social HomeBuy.
Tenants should contact their landlord for further details.
New Build HomeBuy
Purchasers will buy a minimum initial purchase of 25 per cent of a
newly-built home. A housing provider will hold the remainder of the equity.
The provider will be able to levy a charge of up to 3.0 per cent on their
equity. A lower target average for the charge will be set at 2.75per cent.
Purchasers may buy further shares in their home when they can afford to do
so - a process known as “staircasing”.
The First Time Buyers Initiative - using public sector land in an innovative
way to provide affordable housing - will be a form of New Build HomeBuy.
English Partnerships are currently developing the scheme and further details
can be found on their website at:
http://www.englishpartnerships.co.uk
Open Market HomeBuy
Purchasers may be expected to raise finance to purchase around 75 per cent
of a home on the open market.
Participating lenders:
Nationwide and
Yorkshire Building Societies, are now offering a regular mortgage
combined with an equity loan of 12.5% of the property’s value alongside a
Government equity loan of up to 12.5% of the property’s value, which will be
provided via HomeBuy Agents. The Bank of Scotland will be participating
shortly also.
No charge or interest is levied on either of the equity loans for the first
five years. After five years you could be charged a maximum of 3% interest
on the lender’s equity loan, rising up to – but not exceeding - the lender’s
standard variable rate after 10 years. You will never be charged interest,
or need to make monthly payments on the HomeBuy Agent’s equity loan.
You will be required to repay the lender’s equity loan upon payment of the
final instalment of your mortgage, and you will have to repay both the
Lender’s and the HomeBuy agent’s equity loans upon sale of your home.
If you qualify for the scheme because you are a key worker, you will have to
repay the HomeBuy Agent’s equity loan within two years and – possibly the
lender’s too - if you leave qualifying employment.
When you repay the equity loans, you will have to share any increase in the
property’s value with the Lender and the HomeBuy Agent.
This scheme is primarily for key workers in the East, London and the South
East, but will be available on a more limited scale to social tenants and
other priority first time buyers.
Further details will be available from HomeBuy Agents
Are you eligible for the HomeBuy
scheme?
The schemes will help the following
priority groups:
Social tenants and those on the housing register: tenants of councils and
housing associations, and those who are on the housing register, waiting for
a council or housing association home to rent.
Key workers: those working in the public sector in health, education or
community safety - such as teachers, nurses and police officers - in areas
where high house prices are affecting recruitment and retention. Any
assistance will need to be repaid if participants leave qualifying
employment.
First time buyers: households who can't afford to buy their own home and who
have been identified as eligible and prioritised for assistance within the
region by the Regional Housing Boards.
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Homebuy information from the Housing Corporation
This is a guide to the Homebuy scheme, which helps people to
buy a home on the open market. The scheme is operated by selected
Registered Social Landlords (Housing Associations) in England. For more information about the scheme please ask one of the
Registered Social Landlords taking part. • existing tenants of Registered Social Landlords and local councils;
• those on housing waiting lists who are nominated by their local council
• Those likely to be accepted onto housing waiting lists in the immediate
This helps to reduce waiting lists in areas where there is a shortage of The money available for Homebuy is limited, so not everyone wishing to take part can do so. Where the scheme is available, Registered Social Landlords will operate a waiting list if the demand for the scheme exceeds the money available. Before deciding to buy a property, you should take your own independent financial advice to get a clear idea of the costs and obligations of home ownership. Homebuy is a government-backed scheme which is funded and supervised by the Housing Corporation – the government body which has responsibility for Registered Social Landlords in England. How Homebuy Works If you qualify for the scheme, you will need to contribute 75% (three quarters) of the purchase price of a home through mortgage and personal savings. The Registered Social Landlord will lend you the remaining 25% (one quarter). To fund your 75% of the purchase price you will need to arrange a mortgage from an accepted lender. For the purposes of the Homebuy scheme your mortgage must be obtained from a qualified lender. This usually means a building society, a bank, a friendly society or an insurance company. Detailed definitions of these will be given to applicants by the Registered Social Landlord when they are accepted onto the scheme. Applicants should under no circumstances incur any costs in obtaining a mortgage (for example, for a property valuation) until the lender offering to provide the mortgage has confirmed that it is one of these types of lender. This loan will be your mortgage, and you will usually repay it on a monthly basis, with the amount sometimes varying if there are changes in interest rates.
To qualify for the scheme, you must first be approved (in writing) by a registered social landlord operating Homebuy. To find out who runs the scheme in your area, contact your local council or one of the Housing Corporation’s regional offices.
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