Is your Help to Buy deal ending?

Since its launch in April 2013 more than 145,000 properties have been bought using the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme. Five years on and the interest-free element of the loan is due to end, with homeowners potentially facing expensive fees.

The Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme was aimed at helping more first-time buyers onto the housing ladder; they just needed a 5% deposit and 75% mortgage. The remaining 20% came as a loan from the government and was interest free for the first five years.

Swap to a new mortgage deal

If your property has increased in value and you have enough equity, you could consider remortgaging to pay off the loan. Remember though, the equity loan is based on the percentage of the property’s current value and not the amount you borrowed when you joined the scheme. So, if you bought a house for £200,000 with an equity loan of £40,000 and your home has increased in value by £10,000, you’ll need to repay £42,000 when you sell it.

If you bought your house with a Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme and you’re coming to the end of your five-year interest free period you’ll need to start paying a fee of 1.75% of the value of the loan, increasing each year by RPI plus 1%, unless you can pay the loan off.

Whatever type of mortgage you have, you can talk to us to explore your options.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.