Publication - Advice and guidance
First Home Fund: scheme overview
An overview of the First Home Fund shared equity scheme as a comparison table.
- Published:
- 14 Jul 2020
First Home Fund – Scheme Overview Item |
Detail |
Scheme type |
Shared Equity with a monetary amount expressed as a % equity stake |
Scheme name |
First Home Fund |
Launch |
18 December 2019 |
Open to |
All first time buyers |
FTB definition |
For the purpose of this scheme, a first-time buyer is a person who does not own nor has previously owned a dwelling in Scotland, the rest of the UK or the rest of the world. All forms of ownership in the applicable legal system which are equivalent to ownership in Scotland are treated as ownership for this purpose. |
Main residence |
All applicants must reside in the property as their main residence. There will be a corresponding prohibition on letting, lodgers, sharing occupation etc. |
Property |
Newbuild and existing properties. |
Price cap |
None |
Valuation |
Home Report Value used to calculate equity stake. Properties can be bought above valuation but Home Report Value is used to calculate equity stake if property is purchased above the valuation figure. If purchase is below valuation then the purchase price is used. |
Property standard |
Above tolerable standard |
Property alterations |
Permission is required for alterations which are unlikely to be refused (assuming all planning requirements are satisfied) and the Scottish Government will benefit from the resulting uplift in value. |
Builder incentives |
No restrictions on builder incentives for newbuild purchases and assisted purchase is permitted but part exchange is not permitted. |
Maximum Scottish Government equity stake |
Scottish Government equity stake cannot be more than 49% of the property value or purchase price, whichever is the lower. |
Interest on equity loan |
No interest will be charged on the Scottish Government stake at any point. |
Sustainability check |
Yes. Sustainability Calculator will test and ensure home ownership is affordable and sustainable for buyers in the long term |
Cash buyers |
Not allowed |
Minimum mortgage |
25% of purchase price - same as Help to Buy (HTB) |
Deposit |
Deposit of around 5%, subject to lender requirements and any amount over valuation must be cash funded. |
Mortgage type |
Capital repayment |
Award of assistance |
One award per property purchase, not per first-time buyer |
Transaction sequence and timing |
Applicants to identify and make an offer on a property before applying to the scheme. Scheme approval will be given for a 3-month period, within which missives should be concluded. A further 6-month period will be |
Contact
Email: firsthomefund@gov.scot