HomeBuy Direct is a shared equity scheme offered under the Government funded HomeBuy initiative, designed to help First Time Buyers and others into affordable home ownership.  HomeBuy Direct will also help participating house builders by enabling more aspiring home owners to purchase their brand new properties.

HomeBuy Direct is only offered on specific new build schemes with home owners being offered an equity loan of up to a maximum 30% of the purchase price of the property – the equity loan will be funded half by the developer and half by the Government, via the HomeBuy Agents.

What sort of property can I buy with HomeBuy Direct?
The types of property available under HomeBuy Direct may vary and depend on the properties brought forward by the developers.

Who can apply for HomeBuy Direct?
Please see the section Am I eligible to Apply

Developers across the county have submitted bids to the Homes and Communities Agency to provide HomeBuy Direct on specific sites.

You may be offered an equity loan up to 30% of the purchase price of the property you have chosen. You must contribute the remaining equity (minimum 70%) through a mortgage and deposit, a minimum deposit of 5% is required. (Mortgage providers must be regulated by the Financial Services Authority).

There is no fee for the equity loan for the first five years, and a fee of 1.75% will be levied from year 6 onwards.

You may purchase the outstanding equity in on payment (i.e. you will own 100%) or you may redeem the equity loan in instalments – the additional equity payments will be at market rates.

You will be able to sell your property on the open market and any outstanding equity loan will be repaid out of the sale proceeds.  If the value of your property has risen since your purchase, you, the developer and the Government will have a share in the increase. If the value of the property has gone down, the developer and the Government will only share any sale proceeds towards the equity loan once the mortgage has been repaid.