So, to help you find the option that best works for you, here are some of the various ways that you can buy your first home or second property in England, Wales and Scotland.
Shared Ownership offers many buyers a way of slowly stepping onto or up the property ladder, by making it more manageable for those who may have a smaller deposit or find it difficult to save up for a deposit whilst renting.
It allows you to buy a share of your new home from a housing association, typically between 25% to 75% of the home's value, whilst paying rent on the share that you don't own.
Both Scotland and Wales also offer Shared Ownership schemes, but may differ in terms of eligibility criteria from the scheme in England.Find out more about how it works here.
If you’ve been considering buying a newly built home, there are several factors you may benefit from, including energy savings, having little to no maintenance costs and being able to move in straight away (once completed).
To help you buy a new build, some developers offer various incentives or financial support packages:
All of these schemes are also available in Scotland and Wales, however may differ slightly in terms of what they offer, depending on the location and the developer.
If you are a tenant in a council house or housing association in England, Right to Buy is another way of buying a property. The scheme offers applicants, who have lived in the property for at least three years, a discount of up to £127,940 (£96,010 outside London) to help them make the move towards homeownership.
Note that Wales and Scotland no longer offer this scheme.**
The English Rent to Buy scheme helps tenants save for a deposit to buy a property by offering them a discounted rental price. London has its own version of this, called London Living Rent, which works in a similar fashion.
Rent to Buy is not available in Scotland, and the Welsh Rent to Own scheme is now closed to new applicants.
Buying a property through an auction is often a faster and chain-free alternative to buying on the open market. It’s accessible to every type of property, every type of buyer and every type of seller.
One type of auction is the Modern Method of Auction, which combines the speed and certainty of a traditional auction sale, with the marketing expertise of an expert local estate agent. And, with a 95% completion rate, the Modern Method of Auction is an excellent option to consider.^ Find out more about it, here.
If you’ve chosen to build a property, the Government scheme Help to Build may be the best alternative for you. The fund is available to those who buy a plot of land to build a home, for airspace development, as well as other options listed on the Government website.
It’s also available in Wales, under the name of Self Build Wales, and Scotland, Scotland Self-Build Loan Fund, with differing criteria for each.
In addition to the above options, applying for a loan is also a popular route when buying a property, as lenders have a variety of products available.
As you can see, there are different ways to buy a home in the UK – some may be more applicable or available to you than others. If you’ve been thinking about buying, why wait? Find your dream property today!
