Post Sales Information for Buyers

Answers to some of the questions frequently asked by buyers after purchasing a shared equity home


Selling Your Home

You may market your property for sale on the open market at any time. Should you wish to sell your home, you should firstly contact the administering agent for the scheme you used to buy your property to advise them of this. You can then put your home on the open market after you have obtained a home report. If you receive an offer for your property which is less than 95% of the market value you are required to obtain permission from Scottish Ministers before you accept the offer.

Shared equity owners are due to repay the current percentage share of the final selling price held by Scottish Ministers, whether the value of the property has increased or decreased. For example, if Scottish Ministers initially paid a 30% share of the property, the repayment will be 30% of the selling price. If the shared equity owner has increased their share to 80%, the repayment to Scottish Ministers would be 20% of the selling price.

Please note, the process of selling you home will be slightly different if “golden share” is attached to your property. This is sometimes the case for properties purchased via the Open Market Shared Equity or New Supply Shared Equity (LIFT) schemes. Please contact your administering agent for more information about golden share.

Example 1 - An example of when the property value increases

Worked Examples

Monetary Amount (£)

Original Purchase and Valuation Price

£160,000

Your Stake – 85%

£136,000

Scottish Government’s Stake – 15%

£24,000

Sale Price

£180,000

You Receive 85%

£153,000

Scottish Government Receives 15%

£27,000

In this example, the value of your stake has increased from £136,000 to £153,000.

Example 2 - An example of when the property value decreases

Worked Examples

Monetary Amount (£)

Original Purchase and Valuation Price

£160,000

Your Stake – 85%

£136,000

Scottish Government’s Stake – 15%

£24,000

Sale Price

£150,000

You Receive 85%

£127,500

Scottish Government Receives 15%

£22,500

In this example, the property value has fallen by £10,000. You have an 85% stake and make a loss of £8,500 (85% of £10,000).

First Home Fund & First Homes Fund

Under the First Home Fund and First Homes Fund buyers have the option to pay over the Home Report Valuation however if paying over value, the equity percentage that the Scottish Government hold is based on the property valuation, not the final price paid.

Example 3 – An example where the buyer paid above the Home Report Valuation

Worked Examples

Monetary Amount (£)

Original Valuation of the Property

£100,000

Original Purchase Price

£110,000

Buyer’s Stake – 90%

£90,000

Scottish Government’s Stake (10%)

£10,000

Sale Price

£200,000

You Receive 90%

£180,000

Scottish Government Receives 10%

£20,000

Please be aware that fees connected to the sale of your property such as Estate Agent Fees, Solicitor/conveyancer fees will not be deducted from the sale price or market value. These fees will not be deducted from the proceeds due to the returned to the Scottish Government. You will be responsible for meeting all costs (including those incurred by the agent and Scottish Ministers) when you sell your home. You will be informed what these costs are at an early stage by the administering agent.

Contact

Email: HousingMarkets@gov.scot

Back to top