Government Schemes: Right To Buy
The right to buy is a government scheme for those in council housing to allow council tenants to own their council home. Housing associations offer a similar scheme called the right to acquire.
Evergreen mortgages is experienced in special scheme mortgages and we have a strong understanding of how the process works. We like to make things as clear and simple as possible to help you to own your home. Contact us today to get started.
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Right To Buy
For eligibility and to see if you can access the scheme contact your housing provider and they can tell you if you have the option to buy the property you are renting through this scheme.
These schemes are broadly similar with some small differences. If you have questions on the differences, please contact us directly for tailored and specialised advice.
Yes, the discount offered to you by the council can be used in full as your deposit for your purchase of the home. For example, if you were to be receiving a 40% discount on a property normally worth £200,000, you would be receiving an £80,000 discount. That discount amount becomes your deposit and you require a mortgage of £120,000 and so you will be able to access rates potentially in the loan to value bracket of 60%. Not all lenders allow this, some lenders still require an additional 5% deposit on the full value of the home. Contact us to get more information on this & the right lenders for you.
You must be on the council right to buy paperwork to have your income included in any affordability calculations for Right to buy mortgages. If your name is not on the paperwork from the council or housing association, you will not be allowed to be a party to the mortgage to purchase the home.
Yes, see the self-employed pages on this website for more information on how self-employed mortgages are assessed or contact us directly for tailored advice specific to your circumstances.
Yes there are specialist lenders that can assist with this scheme , the interest rates and deposit that you need depends on your personal situation and your credit history. Depending on the lender, you may not need any additional savings, your discount could be your entire deposit.
With good credit, and a strong household income there are a small number of lenders that may be able to consider lending more than the discounted purchase price, however you should consider carefully if you wish to do this, due to the pre-emptive period and scheme rules during the first 5 years of ownership.
Please speak to us as this is specialist advice and we can go through your situation with you in detail.
Things you need to know about this scheme.
The right to buy scheme includes what is known as a pre-emptive period. The pre-emptive period from most schemes ( you should check your scheme specifically) is five years. During this five years, if you were to sell your property, you would need to repay the council a portion of the discount that you were offered to purchase the home.
Because of this pre-emptive period, many lenders restrict the loan to value or remortgage options during this first five years. Depending on your individual circumstances, it may be advisable to consider a five year fixed rate product so that you have security during this pre-emptive period. Any specific advice about the type of rates, fixed or variable, and the length of product that you should take, should always be discussed with an advisor to take into account your personal circumstances. Please contact us today to discuss your options
FAQs
Your initial conversation would normally take between 15 and 30 minutes depending on how many questions you have about the process. We will run through a quick understanding of the information above and your information from your housing provider regarding your discount, to give us an idea of how we can help and discuss through the next steps of owning your home with you.
Generally the documents that are needed are: proof of ID, proof of address, three months payslips and three months bank statements. For a full list and understanding click here for a more detailed breakdown. When buying on the right to buy or right to acquire scheme you will also need your paperwork from your housing provider which will confirm the value of your home, the discount available to you and any other eligibility or time constraints connected with your purchase.
The documents you need to provide ultimately will depend on your personal circumstances.
After any documents requested have been sent we should be able to provide you with a fully costed recommendation for a mortgage and we will discuss this with you to make sure you understand and are clear on the costs and are happy with these. Provided you are happy to proceed, we will then approach lenders for your initial agreement in principle. This consists of a credit check.
Once you have a clear idea on your budget, have been agreed in principle by a lender for the mortgage amount you need, and you have the savings available for the deposit, you’re now in a strong position to put in an offer on the house that you want to buy. This is normally done via the estate agent. However, in Scotland the system is different, where you put your offer in via your solicitor.
