s1homes.com Blog » Help to Buy

A Guide to New Build homes

nrogerson — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 10:38:55 +0000

New build homes are attractive to buyers across Scotland – from first-time buyers to families, to those looking for somewhere to spend their retirement. It’s not the sort of purchase that you make regularly, so s1homes has put together this handy guide to help you through the process.

Why choose a new build home?

There are many advantages to choosing a new build home over an older property.

Everything in the property is brand new. It should be in move in condition with no decorating and minimal DIY required
You’re unlikely to need to make any repairs within the first few years
Energy efficiency and fire safety standards will be high
You may be able to choose fixtures and fittings while the property is being built, or negotiate with the seller on some items
New build homes come with a 10 year warranty (guarantee)

Where do I find new build homes?

New build property developers advertise on s1homes.com. There are over 1200 new homes all over Scotland from developers such as Ogilvie Homes, County Estates, Barratt Homes, Stuart Milne and many more.

Viewing new build homes

For developments that are already built, the process is similar to any other type of property. You will contact the seller and arrange a time to visit and be shown round. However, if the development is in progress, or still in the planning stages, you may visit a show home – a property already completed that is similar to the one you’re interested in. There may be other people visiting at the same time and an appointment is not always necessary. You might also be able to see an artist’s impression of how the property is expected to look. It’s important to consider if building works will be continuing around you if you were to move in, or if there are further plans for the area surrounding the development you are interested in.

Buying a new build property

Some of the buying process is the same – you will need to work out what you can afford, arrange a mortgage and appoint a solicitor to make an offer. New builds are usually sold at fixed price, however, some new home developers offer incentives such as part exchange or a contribution towards your deposit. They may also participate in the Scottish Government’s Help-to-Buy Scheme. Each developer has different offers so it’s best to check what applies to the area or development that you’re interested in.

New homes are often advertised during the planning and building phases so there are different options:

Buy a completed new home
Buy a home that is in the process of being built
Buy a home that has been planned but has not yet been started. This is known as buying ‘off plan’

Buying ‘off plan’ is where this purchase of a new build is particularly different from an older property. Because your property is not yet built you will need to get a completion date from the developer. If this is not written into your contract as a condition of the sale, there is the possibility that this may be delayed. Once contracts are agreed, a deposit will be paid and the agreement with the builder becomes legally binding. Your property will be inspected before completion to check that it meets the required standards and issue a note to your solicitor on satisfactory completion to allow mortgage funds to be released.

Inspections and snagging

It is a good idea to do a snagging inspection, or pay a professional company to carry this out for you. This is an inspection of the home and reports any flaws that the developer should fix. If you are doing this yourself make sure you have a checklist so you know what to look for and ideally carry it out before completion to allow time for repairs. It can still be done within the first two years of the warranty. There is more information at the NHBC website.

To search new build homes in Scotland, search s1homes.com

Help for thousands of homebuyers in Scotland

nrogerson — Wed, 02 Sep 2015 13:04:54 +0000

New scheme to focus on affordable homes.

The Scottish Government will spend £195 million over the next three years on a new shared equity scheme to help around 6,500 households buy a new-build home.

The successor to the existing Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme will focus on affordable homes, with eligible buyers receiving an equity loan towards the purchase price of a new-build home.

There will also be on-going support for small developers, building on the success of the Small Developers scheme, launched in January.

With this new funding, and the Help to Buy scheme, the house-building industry will have received around half a billion pounds of support over a six-year period.

The Scottish Government will work with the house-building industry and lenders to agree on how the new scheme will operate. Further details will be announced following the UK Government’s spending review in November.

Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil visited Pennywell in Edinburgh to meet families who have bought homes through the Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme.

Mr Neil said: “Making sure everyone in Scotland has access to good-quality housing is a vital part of the Scottish Government’s drive to secure economic growth, promote social justice, strengthen communities and tackle inequality.

“By targeting resources at affordable homes, the new scheme will widen access by providing a helping hand to individuals and families who wish to buy a new-build home.

“By the end of this new scheme, coupled with support through the current Help to Buy scheme, we will have helped around 14,000 households buy a new-build home.

“We will also reach our five-year plan of 30,000 affordable homes by March 2016 and our planned investment in affordable housing will exceed £1.7 billion.

“Conditions in the housing sector have continually improved under this government. We have seen sustained falls in homelessness and repossessions and a sixth successive annual fall in housing waiting lists.

“We have abolished the Right to Buy, protecting up to 15,500 social homes from sale over the next ten years, and thanks to our funding, councils are building new homes for the first time in 30 years.

“This considerable investment means that through Help to Buy and its successor, the Scottish Government will have invested around half a billion pounds over six years, providing the private sector and construction industry with a huge boost.”

Regeneration firm Urban Union Ltd, a joint venture between construction firms McTaggart Construction and Robertson Group (Holdings), has been appointed by the City of Edinburgh Council to build more than 700 affordable and private homes in Pennywell.

Graeme Nicol, Managing Director, Urban Union Ltd said: “We welcome the news that Help to Buy is continuing through a new shared equity scheme.

“Help to Buy has been incredibly popular – the majority of buyers at our developments at Pennywell in Edinburgh and Laurieston in Glasgow received funding through this scheme.

“Urban Union is committed to delivering affordable homes and the continuation of support, focusing on the affordable housing market, is a much needed and welcome boost for people who need it most.”

City of Edinburgh Council Housing Leader, Councillor Cammy Day, said: “I welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to help more people buy affordable, energy efficient homes.

“Increasing housing costs in Edinburgh have priced many people out of the private ownership market, making it impossible for them to get on the property ladder.

“I hope that today’s announcement means more people in Edinburgh will benefit from the Help to Buy scheme and also means that we will be able to take forward more projects like Pennywell, which has played a vital role in regeneration of the local area.”

More information about Help to Buy (Scotland) and other schemes for buyers is available at: www.gov.scot/htb

Source: The Scottish Government

Concern as Help to Buy plans hit a cash shortfall

s1marketing — Mon, 21 Jul 2014 16:17:48 +0000

THE Scottish Government is considering how further demand for a scheme which assists buyers purchase a new home can be met after it was claimed it had almost run out of cash.

It was reported that three months after a new round of funding for the Help to Buy scheme began, all the cash for the central area of Scotland has already been allocated.

A total of £275 million had been pumped into the scheme, which provides financial assistance for those buying a new build property, by Holyrood ministers.

Demand has been “extremely high”, the Scottish Government said, with more than 2,000 homes purchased so far using the initiative.

Homes for Scotland, which represents the housebuilding industry, said it was “frustrated but not surprised” by reports that funds for the scheme for this year are almost fully committed.

Tory housing spokesman Alex Johnstone claimed: “Because of mismanagement of Help to Buy by SNP ministers there are fears that people hoping to own their own home may lose out.”

Help to Buy allows both first-time buyers and existing homeowners buying a new-build house from a participating builder to get up to 20 per cent of their purchase price.

The Scottish Government then takes out an equity stake in the property, which the buyer has to repay later.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman insisted all applications that had been approved so far under the scheme would proceed.

Source: Herald Scotland

Fears new Help to Buy scheme will increase house prices

s1marketing — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 11:21:45 +0000

A LANDMARK £12 billion Help to Buy Scheme has prompted concerns of a house price bubble by creating more purchasers for fewer properties in Scotland.

Britain’s state-backed lenders are bracing themselves for a flood of interest from the newly launched scheme which helps homebuyers obtain mortgages worth up to 95% of property values.

But it is feared the new phase of the controversial Help to Buy scheme – which will result in up to 15% of a property’s value being guaranteed by taxpayers in return for a fee from the lender- will put pressure on available housing and create a demand that will push prices higher.

Taxpayer-backed Royal Bank of Scotland and its subsidiary NatWest immediately set out mortgage deals under the scheme and announced 740 of its branches would extend opening hours for two weeks to cope with expected demand.

Halifax and Bank of Scotland, owned by the state-backed Lloyds Banking Group, will start offering loans under the scheme on Friday but the Lloyds brand itself is not taking part.

Grainia Long, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), said it has warned the Government it still has more to do to address concerns about a lack of home supply and the second phase of Help to Buy could result in higher prices.

“We remain concerned that Help to Buy could simply increase prices if it is not matched by an increase in house building,” she said. “We were pleased to see the Bank of England given a role in monitoring the impact of the policy on a yearly basis, but the housing market can move very quickly and we would like to see more clarity around the Government’s proposals for monitoring the scheme between formal reviews.”

Dr John Boyle, director of research and strategy at Scots estate agent firm Rettie and Co, said that, while it was thought by the Government that improving demand would prompt an increase in supply from housebuilders, there were concerns the response was unlikely to be quick.

He said: “Even in the boom times we were not building enough – 35,000 homes a year target set in 1997, when we were building at around two-thirds of this level, and we are now building at around one-third.

“What we really need is a Help to Build scheme, incentivising not just private sector builders, but housing associations and local authorities to build more, and to encourage more investment (from the likes of institutions) into the housing sector, for example,on build to rent models.”

Susan Torrance, policy manager at the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, added: “While we welcome any measure that will assist those in housing need to obtain a new home and appreciates the issue of people being unable to save a 20% deposit to obtain a mortgage, caution must be exercised to ensure that a new build price bubble is not created through a shortage of new homes.

“We would encourage the housebuilding industry to focus on increasing supply rather than raising prices, and we await the report of the monitoring group on the effects of this measure which is controversial south of the Border because it includes existing properties and a higher threshold.”

John Kelly, managing partner of Corum Property estate agents, added: “Perhaps we should credit the Government for stimulating demand as that may well provide the country with the confidence to build far more or perhaps more importantly encourage lending to the sector.

“It’s only by increasing available property that we can avoid price ‘bubbles’, none of us really have a vested interest in that as we all want is relative stability and measured growth.”

Several other major mortgage providers are seeking further details about the costs and benefits of the scheme before deciding whether to take part in it.

A Treasury spokesman said the lenders involved so far represented more than 30% of the mortgage market and more lenders were expected to indicate participation in the coming months.

The scheme had initially not been expected to start until the new year but has been brought forward by three months.

It will offer £12bn in mortgage guarantees over three years and some estimates suggest 180,000 loans could be taken out under the initiative.

Source: Herald Scotland

Game-changing initiative to assist Scottish homebuyers

s1marketing — Tue, 01 Oct 2013 10:13:00 +0000

SCOTS homebuyers are to be helped on to the housing ladder with a new £220 million scheme under which the SNP Government will subsidise a 20% stake in purchases of new properties.

The three-year shared-equity scheme comes after a UK house price surge of 5% last year, credited mainly to a rise of 10% in London which has been partly ascribed to a similar scheme south of the Border.

Scotland’s version will differ significantly from the English scheme, which saw the Chancellor George Osborne announce tighter controls yesterday, giving the Bank of England oversight of it to ensure it was not distorting the market, creating a new housing bubble.

Holyrood ministers have been under fire for the delay in creating a scheme to match that launched six months ago in England amid concerns that initiative has fuelled a house price bubble and is open to abuse by those buying second properties.

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said her initiative would help buyers and the housing industry, which has been struggling in recent years.

She said: “There is no doubt that getting on to, or moving up, the property ladder has become tougher in recent years. House buyers are being hampered by the lack of affordable mortgages, with high deposits often a major barrier.

“The Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme will not only help people to buy their first home, it will also help ‘second-steppers’ and others move to a new property. The scheme will also help support the housing industry alongside our commitment to investment in affordable housing across Scotland.”

Ministers have allocated the £220m over three years for the new shared-equity scheme. From Monday, both first-time buyers and existing homeowners buying a new-build house from a participating builder will be able to get up to 20% of their purchase price.

It works by the Government taking equity in the property, which the buyer has to repay later.

Those buying properties valued at up to £400,000 can get help, but those who already own a house will be expected to sell it before they purchase a new home under the scheme.

It is expected buyers will need a deposit of 5% of the property price, and this and their mortgage must cover at least 80% of the cost of their new home.

Philip Hogg, chief executive of the house-building industry body Homes for Scotland, said a similar scheme in England had generated more than 12,500 sales since being lauched in April. He said, given the immediate and significant impact it had had, it was “absolutely imperative that comparable levels of support were provided here to ensure buyers, builders and the wider Scottish economy were not disadvantaged.”

He added the Scottish Government had now acted in a “pragmatic way to encourage the building of more homes and support vital jobs, skills and apprenticeships”.

He said: “Increasing the range of options available to purchasers, we believe Help to Buy (Scotland) could be a game-changing initiative, acting as the required catalyst to help reverse the downward trend we have witnessed in home building over the past five years.”

More than 30 housebuilding firms are participating in the scheme north of the Border, including well-known companies such as Miller, Cala and Persimmon. Andy Gray, managing director of mortgages at Barclays, said: “We are happy to announce Barclays is joining the Help to Buy (Scotland) equity loan scheme. This is good news for borrowers looking to buy their first home or move up the housing ladder.

“Barclays is very happy to be supporting the Scottish housing market and looks forward to helping customers purchase a new-build property.”

Both Homes for Scotland and the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) will be involved in a new group to monitor its progress, with Paul Smee, CML director-general, saying it “fully supports” the shared-equity initiative.

Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls said that, instead of waiting a year, the Bank should review details of the second phase of Help to Buy now before it goes ahead in January. “It’s totally ill-thought through for George Osborne to decide that a scheme which should be about helping first-time buyers will allow taxpayer-backed mortgages for homes worth up to £600,000.

“George Osborne is still failing to address the fundamental problem of the lowest level of house building since the 1920s.”

Source: Herald Scotland

Scottish Government outlines £220m plan to help new home buyers

s1marketing — Fri, 27 Sep 2013 13:01:31 +0000

Buyers of new-build homes could be in line for up to £80,000 of help as part of a Scottish Government scheme hailed as a potentially “game-changing initiative”.

Ministers have allocated £220 million over three years for the new Help to Buy (Scotland) shared equity scheme.

From Monday, both first-time buyers and existing homeowners buying a new-build house from a participating builder will be able to get up to 20% of their purchase price.

The Scottish Government then takes out an equity stake in the property, which the buyer has to repay at a later date.

Those buying properties valued at up to £400,000 can get help, but those who already own a house will be expected to sell it before they purchase a new home under the scheme.

It is expected buyers will need a deposit of 5% of the property price, and this and their mortgage must cover at least 80% of the cost of their new home.

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the initiative would help both buyers and the housing industry, which has been struggling in recent years.

“There is no doubt that getting on to, or moving up, the property ladder has become tougher in recent years,” she said.

“House buyers are being hampered by the lack of affordable mortgages, with high deposits often a major barrier.

“The Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme will not only help people to buy their first home, it will also help ‘second-steppers’ and others move to a new property.

“The scheme will also help support the housing industry alongside our commitment to investment in affordable housing across Scotland.”

Philip Hogg, chief executive of the house-building industry body Homes for Scotland, said a similar scheme in England had generated more than 12,500 sales since being brought in in April.

He said that given the “immediate and significant impact” it had, it was “absolutely imperative that comparable levels of support were provided here to ensure that buyers, builders and the wider Scottish economy were not disadvantaged”.

He added that the Scottish Government had now acted in a “pragmatic way to encourage the building of more homes and support vital jobs, skills and apprenticeships”.

Mr Hogg said: “Increasing the range of options available to purchasers, we believe Help to Buy (Scotland) could be a game-changing initiative, acting as the required catalyst to help reverse the downward trend we have witnessed in home building over the last five years.”

More than 30 housebuilding firms are participating in the scheme north of the border, including well-known companies such as Miller, Cala and Persimmon.

Mr Smee said: “Lending to Scottish borrowers reached its highest level since 2008 in the second quarter of this year, and with schemes like Help to Buy, conditions are improving for home-buyers.”

Buyers will not be eligible for help under the scheme if they can reasonably afford more than 90% of the full purchase price of the property.

Those who get help will be required to take out a repayment mortgage with a qualifying lender.

Andy Gray, managing director of mortgages at Barclays, said: “We are happy to announce that Barclays is joining the Help to Buy (Scotland) equity loan scheme.

“This is good news for Scottish borrowers who are looking to buy their first home or move up the housing ladder.

“Barclays is very happy to be supporting the Scottish housing market and look forward to helping customers purchase a new-build property through this scheme”

Tracie Pearce, head of group mortgages at Nationwide, said it will also be accepting Help to Buy applications “as we are keen to support the Scottish Government’s efforts in helping the mortgage market to move forward”.

Source: Herald Scotland