Am I eligible to apply?
HomeBuy helps people who wish to buy a property but cannot afford to purchase on the open market.
The government has set conditions about who is eligible and how we prioritise.
In the South West, these groups are existing council and housing association tenants, key public sector workers and other first time buyers. The Local authorities which we work with may also have additional priorities that they wish to be taken into account, for example, those with a local connection to an area.
If you do not belong to one of these groups it doesn't mean you are not eligible but applicants in these groups will normally be treated as a priority.
Note: Previous home owners and current home owners will only be considered for a property under exceptional circumstances, they are as follows:
- Households where there has been a relationship breakdown.
- Existing owners/shared owners where applicants demonstrate a need for a suitable alternative and are nominated and have the support of a local authority.
If your household income equates to less than £15,000 a year we think it is unlikely that you will have sufficient income to buy through low cost home ownership schemes, unless you have extra financial resources (please note, if you are self employed you will need two years accounts). However you are entitled to be added to the register if you meet all the other eligibility criteria. The income you need could be considerably higher than £15,000, depending on the area and the particular property you wish to buy.
You need to be able to meet the following criteria to be eligible to register with Home2own:
If you are a local authority or housing association tenant, you must not be in rent arrears or in breach of your current tenancy agreement at the time you make an application.
You must be over 18 years of age to be eligible to apply for any Homebuy schemes and cannot be included on the HomeBuy register if you are under this age.
You must be currently employed or self employed and can provide two years accounts or have sufficient capital e.g. from the sale of a property, to enable you to purchase without further borrowing.
You will need to have kept up payments on any loan or form of credit agreement that you may have had in the past. You must not have any outstanding County Court Judgments (CCJ's) or bankruptcy. A credit check will be undertaken at some point.
Your household debt must be less than £15,000. This figure excludes student loans and mortgages.
You will need to have access to or can raise at least £3,500 to cover the cost of buying, this will include solicitors fees, land registry fee, survey and/or valuation costs and local authority search fees, amongst others. This will be on top of any deposit that a mortgage lender may require.
You should not have a household income which exceeds £60,000 per annum.
If you are unsure if you meet the above criteria then please do not hesitate to contact the Home2own team on our free phone number 0800 975 1915 *
* Please note this number is only free if you are calling from a BT landline. Alternatively you can ring us on 01803 217600.
