What is the First Home Fund?
The First Home Fund is a scheme run by the Scottish Government to help first-time buyers purchase a property. The scheme opened in December 2019 and the aim was to provide £200 million of funding for first-time buyers. The First Home Fund closed to new applications on Friday 2 October 2020 but this simply represents a pause in the scheme which will re-open in 2021 for purchases completing from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022.
The Scottish Government continues to support homebuyers and the housebuilding sector through existing schemes including Help to Buy (Scotland) and the Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers (LIFT).
It is a shared equity scheme whereby the Scottish Government will have an equity share in the property, but you will own the property outright. You will normally repay the government’s share when you sell your home, but you can also choose to pay this off earlier.
The scheme is open to anyone who does not own, or has previously owned, a property in Scotland or anywhere else in the world. You will need a 5% deposit of the purchase price (subject to individual lender requirements) and your mortgage must be at least 25% of the purchase price.
This scheme allows those who want to get onto the property ladder to split the cost of purchasing the property with the Scottish Government and funding your share via a smaller deposit than otherwise would be required, and a mortgage.
You won’t need to pay monthly instalments or interest to the Scottish Government for their contribution but will pay it back when you sell your home. While you own the property, you will have full ownership rights and will hold the full title.
You cannot apply for this scheme if you are a cash buyer or if you own a property in part or full or have previously owned a property as a sole or joint owner.
The maximum contribution from the Scottish Government is £25,000 or 49% of the property valuation figure or purchase price (whichever is lower). You can submit a joint application and the property must be the sole residence of all applicants. In addition, you cannot apply to any other Scottish Government shared equity schemes such as Help to Buy Scotland while applying for this scheme. You must withdraw this if you have an existing application.
It is important to consult with an Independent Financial Adviser before applying to the scheme as they can help you to decide which is the most appropriate scheme for your circumstances.
This scheme can be used to purchase one of the many properties available from Urban Union across all our developments. Contact us to find out more about current and future availability.