Help to Buy Solicitors in South Wales

Do you dream of buying your own home but have held back because of difficulties in saving for the traditional 10% deposit? If so, we can help you find out if you are eligible for the Government-backed Help to Buy Scheme and help you to achieve your dream.

Our friendly conveyancing solicitors are based in Newport and can assist buyers in both England and Wales purchase their first home.

You can use our online conveyancing calculator to see how much your conveyancing could cost with us. Or, if you have a question or would like more information, get in touch by giving us a call or filling in our online enquiry form.

How our Help to Buy solicitors can help

Our expert conveyancing solicitors can advise you about all types of Help to Buy transaction, including:

Help to Buy: Equity Loan Scheme (England)
Help to Buy – Wales
Help to Buy: Shared Ownership (England)
Shared Ownership - Wales
Help to Buy: ISA (closed to new accounts)

We can handle all the legal aspects of your purchase on your behalf, from carrying out conveyancing searches to make sure the property is suitable for your needs to dealing with exchange of contracts and completing the transaction.

If you decide to instruct us, you will benefit from:

Competitive fixed fees with no hidden costs
Our extensive experience of helping clients under the Help to Buy Scheme
Our working relationships with mortgage lenders
Our access to cutting edge software to progress your matter efficiently
Clear jargon-free advice
Regular updates by phone or e-mail
A friendly, professional and reliable service

Our team are members of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme for our fast, convenient and cost-effective conveyancing service.

We can offer you a free first consultation to talk about how we can help and confirm the conveyancing costs for carrying out the work.

Visit our Conveyancing Solicitors page for more information or use our online conveyancing calculator to get a quote.

See below to read more about some of the first time buyer schemes we can help with.

Help to Buy: Equity Loan (England)

The Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme is available to first time buyers in England. The original Equity Loan Scheme (2013-2021) has now closed to new applicants; a new similar scheme opened to new applicants in December 2020 and will run until 31 March 2023.

Am I eligible for the Equity Loan Scheme?

You will be eligible for the Scheme as long as you have a deposit of at least 5% for the home you want to buy. While many lenders will not lend more than 80% of the value of a property, with a Help to Buy mortgage you can borrow up to 95%. The mortgage company then gets a guarantee from the government which covers the amount by which the loan exceeds 80% of the price.

The scheme is only available to you if you are buying a property for you to live in. It is not available for buy-to-let or investment purchases.

The maximum property price you can put an Equity Loan towards is capped depending on where in England you buy it:

Region	Maximum property price
North East	£186,100
North West	£224,400
Yorkshire and the Humber	£228,100
East Midlands	£261,900
West Midlands	£255,600
East of England	£407,400
London	£600,000
South East	£437,000
South West	£349,000

In considering your finances, you need to bear in mind that the loan from the lender will not cover your legal costs associated with your purchase (things like solicitor’s fees, survey fees, search fees, registration fees and Stamp Duty – where applicable) so you need to budget for these.

Will I be eligible if I am not a first-time buyer?

No. The new 2021-2023 Equity Loan Scheme is restricted to first time buyers.

Does the property I want to buy need to be a ‘new build’ property?

Yes. The Equity Loan Scheme can only be used to purchase a new build home from a homebuilder registered for the Scheme.

Help to Buy – Wales

Wales has its own Equity Loan Scheme that allows buyers to purchase a new build home worth up to £250,000 through a registered Help to Buy – Wales builder.

Am I eligible for the Help to Buy – Wales scheme?

You will be eligible for Help to Buy – Wales if you can fund at least 80% of the purchase price. You must raise a deposit of at least 5% and take out a mortgage to cover the rest. The scheme then allows you to take out a shared equity loan of up to 20% backed by the Welsh government to cover the remainder of the purchase price.

You are not allowed to sub-let the property or use the Scheme to buy a second home.

In considering your finances, you need to bear in mind that the loan from the lender will not cover your legal costs associated with your purchase (things like solicitor’s fees, survey fees, search fees, registration fees and Land Transaction Tax – where applicable) so you need to budget for these.

Will I be eligible if I am not a first-time buyer?

You do not have to be first time buyer. The scheme is available if you already own a home or have done so before, but you will have to sell your existing home at the same time as, or before, you complete a purchase with a Help to Buy mortgage.

Does the property I want to buy need to be a ‘new build’ property?

Yes, the property needs to be a new build or bought off plan to be eligible for the Scheme.

Help to Buy: Shared Ownership (England)

Help to Buy: Shared Ownership allows buyers in England to purchase a share of a property (between 25% and 75% of the home’s value) and pay rent on the rest. This means that you can buy a property with a smaller deposit and mortgage. You can buy bigger shares in the property later on (known as staircasing).

There are also dedicated Shared Ownership schemes for people with long-term disabilities and older people.

To be eligible, your household must earn £80,000 a year or less or £90,000 a year or less in London.

You can buy through the Shared Ownership scheme if you:

Are a first time buyer
Are an existing shared owner looking to move
Used to own your own home but can no longer afford to

You do not have to buy a new build, but if you buy an older property it needs to be through a shared ownership resale programme via a housing association.

Shared Ownership – Wales

Wales has its own Shared Ownership scheme that allows buyers to purchase a share of their property (between 25% and 75% of the home’s value) and pay rent on the rest. This means that you can buy a property with a smaller deposit and mortgage. You can buy bigger shares in the property later on (known as staircasing).

To be eligible, your household must have a combined income of £60,000 per year or less.

You must also be a first time buyer, unless:

You are forming a new household, for example, because you have just broken up with your partner.
You are relocating for work to an area where you cannot afford to buy a home suitable for your family size.

You must not be buying the home to let or as a second home.

Help to Buy: ISA

The Help to Buy: ISA scheme is now closed to new accounts.

If you already have a Help to Buy ISA, you can continue saving until November 2029. The ISA allows you to boost your savings by 25%. For every £200 you save, the government will give you a bonus of £50 up to a maximum of £3,000.

The Help to Buy ISA funds can be used at the very end of your conveyancing transaction and put towards the completion monies for your new home. It cannot be used to boost your deposit which is paid when you exchange contracts.

General questions about Help to Buy

Will there be any difficulties in getting a mortgage?

Your mortgage broker will give you the best advice on this, but you need to bear in mind that you must meet the mortgage lender’s usual financial checks and other lending criteria, and show that you have not had any previous financial difficulties.

If you are buying with a partner, joint incomes will be considered. Whilst not all lenders have joined the Help to Buy Scheme, those that have include the major high-street banks as well as some other lenders. There should be plenty of choice available to you.

Your mortgage must be a repayment mortgage, not an interest only mortgage.

Will buying a property be more complicated than usual if I am using Help to Buy?

Buying a property under this scheme does involve more work and more time for us than is usual in the purchase of a property, but this doesn’t mean that it will take longer to complete your purchase.