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Category: Finance

 

Help to Buy Extended to 2022

Yesterday the Scottish Government pledged £55 million to help property buyers get onto the market. The scheme has been extended by a year to March 2022.

The Government announced that more than 2,000 extra households would benefit from the scheme whereby buyers can access up to 15% of the cost of buying a new-build home with a purchase price of up to £200,000.

The Government share is repaid once the property is sold or when the share is bought out by the property purchaser.

The annual funding has been increased by £5 million to £55 million to finance the additional year, of which £15 million is ringfenced for homes bought from smaller developments.

Housing Minister Kevin Steward stated “A strong and growing house-building industry is vital to Scotland’s future economic prosperity – and particularly as we plan our strategic economic recovery from Covid-19. This extension will provide us with the opportunity to reassess future priorities for the market, taking account of economic conditions following the pandemic, as well as providing a helping hand to those seeking to buy their own home.

“Since 2013, the Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme has supported people with the purchase of over 17,000 new build homes and in particular supported young people aged 35 and under. Extending this scheme will help more people to buy a new-build property, particularly those who have suffered lower levels of income and have used up savings due to the impact of Covid-19 in recent months.”

Here at Urban Union Ltd. this is welcome news and we believe it will improve confidence in the market allowing young people to realise their dream of owning their own home when they may have otherwise missed out. At Urban Union we regenerate communities and build affordable, high quality homes for people at all life stages – from first time buyers through to downsizers.

What is Help to Buy (Scotland)?

Help to Buy (Scotland) is a shared equity scheme aimed at helping both first-time buyers and home movers buy a new build home.

Help to Buy (Scotland) is made of up two schemes. The Affordable New Build Scheme available to larger homebuilders and the Smaller Developers New Build Scheme for smaller home builders and is available through these participating builders.

The rules covering the two schemes the same and include:

  • A deposit of at least 5% is required.
  • Your combined deposit and mortgage must cover 85% of the purchase price.
  • The Scottish Government will contribute the remaining 15% of the purchase price holding security over this proportion till you own your home outright.
  • The mortgage must be a repayment mortgage of at least 25%. This cannot be an interest-only first mortgage.

Talk to us about our developments and available properties or find out more here.

An example of how you could use Help to Buy at Muirton Living

Prices from £105,000 with £2,500 incentives for July Reservations.
£105,000
5% client deposit of £5,250
£24,150 FHF contribution
Mortgage £75,600
£500 lender cash back
30 year term
• Fixed
• Monthly payment – £277.05
• Initial Interest rate – 1.94%
• Initial number of months on the borrowing rate – 24
• SVR payment – £380.06
• SVR rate – 3.59%
• Number of months on the SVR – 336
• APRC – this needs to be equally prominent as any other rate – 3.9%

Helping Your Children Onto the Property Ladder with a Second Mortgage Over a decade ago, you could get a variety of mortgages with little or no deposit and with a low or self-certified salary. These days lenders are looking for at least 5% – 15% deposit to get ont read more

 

Are you a first-time buyer and wondering where to start?

When looking to buy your first property, the first thing you need to ask yourself is what you can afford. Buying a property is a long-term financial commitment so you need to consider how much you can put down on a home as a deposit as this will affect the mortgage deal you’re eligible for. The larger the deposit, the better the interest rate. You could use money from an existing property, savings, money that family is willing to gift you – and you’ll need to look at your monthly income and outgoings to determine if you can afford the commitment.

How much you can borrow?

Every lender has different lending criteria and ways of calculating how much they are willing to lend you if you are eligible for mortgage. They will look at your income, your deposit, regular outgoings and your credit rating. If you are buying jointly with a partner or family member, they will look at these for both applicants.

You can purchase a property with a 5% deposit, but lenders typically require 10 to 20% of the purchase price, and the higher the deposit the better the interest rate you will be offered. You can also use Help to Buy or the First Home Fund on first properties such as those offered by Urban Union. This means that you will receive government help with your deposit by way of an interest free loan.

Working out what you can afford

Start with your annual income before taxes along with your deposit amount. You can use a mortgage calculator to work out the mortgage you will be offered and what your monthly repayments will be. You’ll choose between a variable rate mortgage or a fixed-rate for 2, 3 or 5 years although you can also take out a 10-year fixed rate mortgage deal.

Other expenses will need to be taken into account including Stamp duty (LBTT here in Scotland) although you may not need to pay this if you are buying a property below the threshold. You’ll also need to consider buildings insurance, moving costs, estate agents fees (if selling a property), solicitor fees and mortgage arrangement fees – but these will vary depending on what sort of property you are buying.

When buying a home from Urban Union the price listed is the price you pay, with no ‘offers over’ or competition from other buyers. You simply need to go through the process and pay a reservation fee, which is deducted from your purchase price. Talk to us to find out more about the process.

Lastly, when calculating what you can afford remember that the unexpected can happen so it’s a good idea not to push yourself to your spending limit.

Take a look at the benefits of buying a newly built home. 

During this unusual time where we are advised to stay at home where possible, families are spending much more time together. As a result we are all using the internet at once in order to work, study and play.  Here are some ways to maximise your internet speed:

Check your speed

A good broadband speed has never been more important, so the first thing to do is to check your speed. You can usually do this yourself using your broadband provider’s website. Check the speed you are paying for and check the speed you’re receiving. Sometimes there are quick fixes that your provider can carry out remotely to improve things.

Is your router in the correct position?

By placing your wireless router in the incorrect spot in your home can make a huge difference to its performance. If it is placed next to an electrical appliance, a window, a mirror, on the floor, in an extension or at the top of the property it can have significant interference and slow your speed right down.

Try and position your device near the centre of your home and close to the place that you rely on it the most – either close to your television or home office. Talk to your provider to make sure you have the latest model as this can also have an impact.

Don’t turn your router off

Make sure it’s on all the time unless you are going on holiday. If you keep turning it on and off you may find that it becomes slower because the local exchange will think your phone line is unstable and cannot deal with the high speeds.

Give it a kick start

If you find that it sometimes drops in speed, try turning it on and off again. It sounds obvious but this can make a difference.

Fit a microfilter

A microfilter is a small box that stops services interfering with each other – this is important if you use a home phone line.

Check your router settings

Talk to your Internet provider and find out how to remotely access your router settings. This will have settings that will enable you to make your router more efficient.

Change your username and password

Change your router name and password to something recognisable and memorable otherwise you could find it time consuming connecting to different devices throughout the home.

Make sure you’re on the fastest channel

Your wireless router will have several channels and some will be faster than others. If your neighbour has the same channel then you may find this slows yours down. Try different channels until you find one with a better speed – it’s trial and error with this one!

Use a booster

You can get hold of a wifi extender which boosts and carries your internet connection through your wiring and taking it to all corners of the home where the signal is otherwise weak. This is especially true for those with an extension. You can use these to create your very own wifi hotspot.

Use an ethernet cable

If you want a quick fix for a strong signal straight to your computer, use an ethernet cable from your router.

Check your data limit

A data cap limits your internet usage which can cause a slow-down in your broadband speed. To find out what this is and if you’re close to the limit, contact your broadband provider.

Check how many devices you’re using

Turn off any devices that aren’t being used as these can slow your internet speed considerably. Media pop ups can also be a culprit so make sure applications that aren’t being used are turned off.

The way we live and even shop for food has changed. We’ve all been advised to only go to the supermarket when absolutely essential and no more than once a week if you are only shopping for your household. This could throw up a few challenges and if you’re used to buying what you need when you need it, you might be interested in how to safely store your food.

There are lots of things that you can put straight in the freezer instead of the fridge and by being aware of how you can store certain foods, you may find that you enable your stocks to last much longer.

Meat, poultry, ready meals, pasta, cheese, butter and bread can be frozen for when you need them. Here’s what you can freeze:

Dairy

All milk can be put in the freezer and defrosted before use. Make sure it’s sealed properly as it can expand and when you defrost it and avoid using a microwave which can cause uneven temperatures and could spoil the milk faster once it’s defrosted. Place it in the fridge overnight and in the morning you should be able use it as normal.

Many hard cheeses freeze well and maintain their structure through the process. However, many hard cheeses such as Parmesan do last for quite a long time so it may not be necessary. You can also freeze grated cheese allowing you to use what you need in sauces and dishes.

Baked goods

Bread, rolls, flatbread and wraps can all be frozen and flat packed tortilla and sandwich wraps are very easy to store, taking up very little space compared to a loaf of bread. You can also freeze things like crumpets, bagels and buns. Bread can be toasted from frozen. If you bake cakes, these can also be frozen whole or in slices.

Pasta

Fresh pasta can be stored in the freezer to ensure it keeps for longer – with egg content it usually only has a shelf life of a week or two. It can be cooked straight away in hot water without the need to defrost. Just note that a packet of fresh pasta takes up much more room than it does in dried form.

Fruit

If you make smoothies – frozen fruit is an amazing item to have in your freezer. It can be mixed with juice and yoghurt giving you a fresh, cold and healthy smoothie. They can also be used for baking in pies or served with ice cream.

Freezing meals

If you make a large pot of stew, soup, chilli, bolognese or pie, try and make extra and freeze it for future meals. Just make sure you only freeze and defrost them once.

Follow guidelines

If you do freeze your food, make sure you follow the guidance on the packaging and only freeze items that haven’t already been frozen. Make sure that meat and fish aren’t left in the freezer for too long – they can still go off.

 

In the war against COVID-19, it’s not just our hands and surfaces that need to be cleaned properly. It’s also important to wash your clothes especially as, at present, there’s no solid evidence about how long the virus can live on fabrics.

We have all been advised to stay at home where possible, so if you’re not a key worker you will at home and limiting your contact with the world outside your household. The advice is to take one walk a day within walking distance of your home, shop for food just once a week and use deliveries to minimise contact with people.

This is having a serious impact on our daily life, so we thought we’d offer some advice on how to ensure your clothes are clear of all germs and bacteria to help you get through this difficult time without getting ill.

Clean everything

Make sure you thoroughly clean all bedding, towels, sportswear, soft furnishings and sportswear to be on the safe side. While it’s important to use high temperatures to kill germs, it’s not always necessary to use the highest temperature especially as this can be harmful to the environment. Tests have shown that washing your clothes at 60°C, with a good detergent, is sufficient.

Check the instructions carefully

Check the label to ensure clothes can be cleaned safely at 60-degrees otherwise you could cause damage or shrinkage. If they can’t be washed at 60-degrees in a washing machine, check guidance on the label of each item to be washed and make sure you use a good quality and quantity of laundry

Wash as you go

Make sure you regularly clean clothes without letting them pile up otherwise it’s tempting to use a quick wash and if you wash things straight away it’s better than having clothes with germs hanging around within the home.

Outerwear is just as important

Don’t forget outerwear, as these items can be neglected when it comes to washing and can still have germs present as they are usually worn every day. Make sure your hats, scarves, coats and jackets are cleaned regularly too. If items are dry clean only, use an antibacterial spray in the interim.

 

Saving to Get Onto the Property Ladder?

According to a new report from Zoopla, the number of young people who have taken the first step onto the housing ladder has risen for the first time in a decade.

Over 40% of those aged between 25 and 34 owned a property in 2018/2019. This is great news considering that back in 2013/14 the figure was lower at 36%. This increase in home ownership rates reflects the availability of help from the government for first time buyers. These include the new First Home Fund and Help to Buy.

The Help to Buy equity loan shows that 81% of those who have used the scheme since they first launched are first-time buyers. In addition, the number of people who are renting a property in the private rental sector has remained unchanged from the previous year at 4.6 million.

This is great news that more young people are able to purchase a property, but there has been a fall in the older groups in homeownership figures. Those aged between 35 and 44 were still most likely to be owner-occupiers at 55%, but the proportion who rent from the private sector has risen by 16% since 2008/2009 to 29%. There has also been an increase in those aged 55 to 64 who are renting with a 3% rise to 10% since 2008. This rise in older renters could be due to increasing divorce rates among this age group, with people unable to afford to buy a property after selling the family home and dividing up assets.

Looking for your first home? We have an exceptional range of modern starter homes with comfort, space and light at the forefront of design. Each development is in a regeneration area and close to many schools, amenities and transport links. Some properties are available to purchase using Help to Buy and the First Home Fund.

 

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