Buyer tools

Under the existing Stamp Duty Land Tax thresholds, first time buyers pay zero Stamp Duty on the first £425,000 of any home that costs up to £625,000, however, this will be dropping to £300,000 of any home that costs up to £500,000 in April 2025.

While many buyers find it useful to work with a mortgage broker when purchasing their first home, it isn’t required!

Shared Ownership is a government scheme that allows buyers to purchase a share in a property, usually between 10% and 75%, while paying a reduced market rent to a housing association on the remainder. The scheme gives first time buyers and those that do not currently own a home the opportunity to purchase a share in a new-build or resales property.

Deposit Unlock is a scheme developed by the Home Builders Federation and reinsurance firm, Gallagher Re.

In order to protect themselves from the devaluation of new properties, mortgage lenders are often stricter on the amount they are willing to lend on newly built homes, often setting minimum required deposits of 15-25%. Deposit Unlock lets buyers put down a 5% deposit on a new-build home with the house builder paying to insure the mortgage to make lenders more comfortable about offering high Loan-to-Value (LTV) mortgages on new homes.

Rent to Buy homes provide budding buyers with the opportunity to rent a new-build property on an Intermediate Rent basis for a fixed term of up to five years. The homes are let at a 20% subsidised rate with a fixed rate of inflation to help tenants save towards a home-buying deposit.

No, the Help to Buy: Equity Loan closed to new applicants on October 31st 2022, before officially ending on March 31st 2023. However, you can find Help to Buy alternatives on Share to Buy including Shared Ownership, First Homes, Deposit Unlock and other home-buying and rental schemes.

Are you housing association, developer, sales agent or location authority selling properties through Shared Ownership, First Homes, Deposit Unlock and other affordable homeownership schemes? We can list your new-build and resale homes on the Share to Buy property portal!

As well as working alongside registered housing providers, we also partner with private sellers who are looking to sell their current Shared Ownership home.