SCOTLAND’S VOICE OF PROPERTY ROUNDS UP THE WEEK’S NEWS –

THE Scottish Government’s newly launched First Home Fund is a £150 million shared equity pilot scheme that will give first-time buyers up to £25,000 to help them buy a property. The fund is open to all first-time buyers in Scotland – and the good news is it can be used to help buy both new build and existing properties with no limit on the purchase value. First-time buyers are defined as those who do not own, and have never previously owned, a property in Scotland or anywhere else in the world.

To take advantage of the scheme, buyers will need a minimum 5% deposit and at least a mortgage of 25%. The First Home Fund allows buyers to own 100% of their property but with the Scottish Government contributing up to a maximum of 40% equity stake based on a property’s value or purchase price, whichever is lower and up to a maximum of £25,000. Buyers will make up the remainder of the price with a deposit and mortgage from their financial provider.

The Scottish Government stake is interest-free. The fund, which is now taking applications, cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer or Scottish Government shared equity scheme such as Help to Buy.

By way of example, a first-time buyer choosing a new three-bedroomed semi-detached Baxter house type at Taylor Wimpey’s Princess Gate development in Troon would need a 5% deposit of £9,200 and would then access £25,000 from the First Home Fund and arrange a mortgage of £149,800 from a lender in order to complete the purchase price of £184,000.

For details check www.gov.scot/collections/firsthome-fund/#informationforbuyers

PERTHSHIRE PEARLS

NORMALLY Edinburgh is at the forefront of upmarket property market statistics, but Rettie’s look back at 2019 reveals the beautiful county of Perthshire has been a star performer for the firm’s prime property sales, having sold seven properties over £1 million in the area last year, which contrasts with the total number of 10 £1m-plus sales by all its Perthshire agents in the last three years, most of which were sold in 2016. All the million-pound properties sold by Rettie in 2019 varied from relatively new houses to a traditional period country house, but they all had one common feature: they were quality family homes in prime locations that were marketed across the globe.

First-timers can now access a £150m fund