KEYS TO KNOW
new-build property offered by approved developers and priced at under £200,000.
To pay for the property, you need at least a 5 per cent deposit, the Scottish Government will take a 15 per cent equity stake and cover that percentage of the purchase price, and a mortgage covers the remaining 80 per cent.
In practice, at Walker Group’s The Braes in Falkirk for instance, buyers of the Albury house type priced at £180,000 need a deposit of £9,000 with the Government’s stake in the property equivalent to £27,000. Buyers then need to borrow £144,000 from a mortgage provider.
Walker Group director Sandy Casey says: “Buying your own home gives you so much more independence than renting – you can decorate and furnish it as you want and with fixed rate mortgages you know how much you will be paying out every month.
“With Help to Buy, buyers can purchase their property without saving for a deposit for years and years, bringing the date the house is paid off that much closer.”
The Albury features a good-sized lounge, a kitchen and a cloakroom on the ground floor. Upstairs there are three bedrooms – the master has an ensuite shower room – and a family bathroom.
First-time buyers in Renfrew are being helped onto the property ladder by a combination of Help to Buy and an added 5 per cent deposit contribution from Barratt Homes.
Current renters can now purchase a home at Waterside @ Ferry Village, with mortgage repayments lower than local rents.
Barratt West Scotland sales director Estelle Sykes says: “The Help to Buy scheme is a great enabler for first-time buyers in Scotland to get a foot onto the property ladder. The affordability at Waterside @ Ferry Village is a prime example of ‘Why rent when you can buy?’ ”
The Renfrew development has a collection of two-bedroomed apartments and three and four-bedroomed townhouses with prices starting from £139,995.
The additional deposit contribution is available on selected plots. Priced at £139,995, the Help to Buy equity share would be £20,999, the buyer would need a deposit of £7000, Barratt Homes would contribute £7000 and the remaining mortgage amount would be £104,996.
The monthly repayment on a fixed rate mortgage is estimated to be £326 – lower than monthly rents in the area.
Taylor Wimpey West Scotland has launched its final development of new homes for sale at Walker’s Grove, off John Walker Drive in Kilmarnock.
Walker’s Grove offers a wide range of two, three, and four-bedroomed homes in a variety of styles. Prices 0 Walker Group’s The Braes in Falkirk, top. 0 Barratt Homes’ Allan Park development in Cove. 2 Bancon Homes’ Oaklands in Banchory. Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme offers a 15 per cent equity stake from the Scottish Government.
Buyers provide a 5 per cent deposit. An 80 per cent loan to value mortgage makes up the balance. start at £122,000 for the Andrew two-bedroomed semi-detached and go up to £200,000 for the Fraser four-bedroomed detached, which means that Help to Buy will be available on all homes initially released for sale.
At Barratt Homes’ Allan Park development, in the coastal suburb of Cove in south-east Aberdeen, less than half of the homes originally on offer now remain, such has been the popularity of Help to Buy.
Enjoying a prime position, Allan Park gives residents spectacular sea views along with easy access to the heart of the city.
The two-bedroomed Forbes 2 house type offers versatile space with a large lounge, an open-plan kitchen and dining area and two double bedrooms.
Prices start under the Help to Buy threshold, at £194,995.
Meanwhile, the second phase of Bancon Homes’ Oaklands development in Banchory, Aberdeenshire, has been launched.
Available to buy off-plan now are 12 two-bedroomed apartments positioned in the heart of the development.
Set across three floors, the eight apartment styles are designed to maximise space with a contemporary open-plan living and kitchen area.
Prices for the two-bedroom flats at Oaklands start at £194,995.