Loan opportunities for self-builders in the Highland Council region

The Highlands Small Communities Housing Trust presents the Highland Selfbuild Loan Fund, a new Scottish Government fund. This fund applies to plots of land within the Highland Council area only.

The fund allows HSCHT, acting as agent to the Scottish Government, to provide a revolving fund to self-builders throughout the Highlands. The fund aims to generate growth in this self-build sector again, and provide financial assistance to individuals and families who have in recent years been unable to progress with their self-build projects. HSCHT will keep a database of all the people expressing interest in the fund, in hope that this will prove to lenders that there is a high demand, and that it is indeed possible to finance these type of projects. £4 million is available in total to provide to individuals and families throughout the Highlands, with applications open until the end of March 2018. This is a revolving fund, so as some projects are completed and the loan provided to them is paid back, HSCHT will then be able to use this finance to assist another applicant. The analysis of the pilot will be used to inform future policy for self-build support in Scotland, and to provide evidence of demand to high street lenders. The new fund will allow applicants to borrow up to £175,000 to help them reach build completion. The loan is then repaid when the applicant is able to access a traditional mortgage. The HSBLF can help a wide range of people who are considering a self-build project for their primary residence. Those who own or part-own a home can apply although they need to sell their interest in that property. In addition, the HSBLF applicants will be prioritised in the following order: 1) Applicants with all necessary titles, permissions, warrants and other documentation requested during the application process. 2) Applicants with shorter build programmes. This is to allow us to provide more funding for a greater number of projects – allocating funding to a larger number of applicants between up to April 2018. 3) Applicants with greater housing need. The agent (HSCHT) will assess the project costs and compare this with the applicant’s contribution. If there is a shortfall in cash flow to reach completion stage (where mortgage funds become available), this will be the basis of how the HSBLF amount is calculated. The duration of the fund being available to each applicant will depend on their build schedule. This will be decided before a formal offer is made. The loan offered to the applicant can be drawn down over the course of the project build – at stages previously agreed during the application stage. If you are interested in hearing more about the Highland Self-build Loan contact HSCHT on 01463 233548, or email selfbuild@hscht.co.uk.