The Scottish government has allocated £150m to the newly-created First Home Fund to help up to 6,000 fledgling buyers on to the housing ladder in the area they want to live. The fund will be open until March 2021 or until the £150m pot of money is allocated to buyers, whichever comes first.
Nationwide Building Society, Scottish Building Society and Bank of Scotland are among the first lenders to sign up to the scheme.
Under the scheme first-time buyers in Scotland can buy their own home, with an equity loan from the Scottish Government of up to £25,000, or 49 per cent of the property’s value, whichever is the lower amount. The first-time buyer must provide a minimum deposit of five per cent of the purchase price.
Like Help to Buy Scotland, there is no deadline for the repayment of the equity loan which is interest free.
The first-time buyer has the option of acquiring all or some of the Scottish Government’s retained equity share at any time.
The First Home Fund runs alongside the Help to Buy (Scotland) and Open Marked Shared Equity schemes.
Ian Wilson, head of Halifax Intermediaries, said: “We are committed to supporting first-time buyers as part of our pledge to help Britain prosper and welcome the introduction of the First Home Fund to help aspiring homeowners in Scotland.
“This will help address one of the biggest obstacles first-time buyers face getting onto the property ladder, and along with the Help to Buy scheme, provide more options for people to become homeowners.”
