Help to Buy Wales
A Guide to Help to Buy - Wales
At Principality, we have been helping our Members buy their homes for over 150 years. We understand it can be a difficult time to save for a deposit to buy your first home or move up the property ladder which is why we are proud to be part of Help to Buy – Wales.
Information on this page has been designed using information taken from the Help to Buy - Wales website.
If you are eligible, Help to Buy – Wales allows you to purchase a new build property up to the value of £300,000 with assistance from the Welsh Government by taking out a shared equity loan.
Help to Buy – Wales is comprised of 3 parts:
- The buyer contributes a deposit of at least 5% of the property price
- The Welsh Government through Help to Buy (Wales) Ltd funds a shared equity loan for up to 20% of the purchase price of the property
- The buyer then needs to secure a mortgage for the remaining balance.
Buyers who are part of the scheme will not be able to sub-let their home.
Example:
From the time a buyer receives the shared equity loan they will be charged a small administration fee of £1 per month.
Then, in the 6th year, they’ll be charged interest of 1.75% per annum of the original shared equity loan amount. After this, the interest will increase every year. This increase is worked out by using the Retail Prices Index plus 1%.
Help to Buy – Wales is open to all homebuyers looking to purchase a property in Wales who:
- are buying a new-build property up to the value of £300,000
- have a minimum 5% personal deposit
- can afford the repayments on a 75% loan to value repayment mortgage
- are buying their only property for personal residence and are not planning to sub-let
Help to Buy – Wales is subject to certain terms and conditions and affordability criteria as defined by the Welsh Government.
Full details can be found at www.helptobuywales.co.uk.
- You will need to find a property with a builder who is registered with the Help to Buy – Wales scheme
- Submit an application to Help to Buy (Wales) Ltd
- Help to Buy (Wales) Ltd will check your eligibility for the scheme and whether you could afford the repayments on a repayment mortgage.
- If you are eligible and pass the affordability criteria, Help to Buy (Wales) Ltd will send you, your solicitor and the builder approval.
- You will then need to submit a full mortgage application to a registered lender.
- If your application results in a mortgage offer from the lender then you’re nearly there. Contracts can be exchanged, funds transferred and the sale is complete.