What is the Forces Help to Buy Scheme?
The Armed Forces Help to Buy scheme is a £200 million scheme to help serving personnel get on the property ladder. The scheme has now been extended to 31st December 2019 and was designed to address the low rate of home ownership in the armed forces.
The Forces Help to Buy scheme enables servicemen and servicewomen to borrow up to 50% of their salary, interest free, to use towards buying their home. The money that is borrowed is then repayable over 10 years.
The repayable Forces Help to Buy loan will be factored into affordability for mortgage lenders and so this should be discussed with a mortgage broker.
Who can use the scheme?
The scheme is open to serving Armed Forces personnel and for advice and guidance the relevant Chain of Command and personnel agency should be contacted. In general, the following rules will apply:
- The applicant will have completed the pre-requisite length of service
- The applicant will have more than 6 months left to serve at the time they apply
How much can be borrowed under the scheme?
This scheme allows service personnel to borrow up to 50% of their annual salary, to a maximum of £25,000 to use towards the purchase of a new home.
Forces Help to Buy and Mortgage Lenders
Not all mortgage lenders accept the Forces Help to Buy scheme as a source of deposit and some will only accept it if combined with other sources, for example savings. Many lenders do however accept the scheme and so usually a wide variety of mortgages can be on offer. The number of mortgages available will depend on the circumstances as a whole, including factors such as the applicants credit history.
Please get in touch today to discuss your Forces Help to Buy mortgage enquiry and let us help you get the right mortgage!