Saving for a home isn’t always easy, but there are government-backed schemes available in Scotland to help you on your journey to home-ownership. Take a look at the options below to see if there’s a scheme that suits your needs.
Low-cost Initiative for First-Time Buyers (LIFT)
The LIFT schemes in Scotland allow you to receive between 10% and 40% towards the price of a home if you can’t afford to pay the full price yourself, as long as you’re eligible. That means you don’t need to save as big a deposit or get as big a mortgage as you otherwise would.
There are limits on the size and price of the type of property you can buy through the LIFT scheme. For example, if the property has too many bedrooms, it might not qualify.
Lift scheme limits
We offer mortgages for homebuyers participating in the Open Market Shared Equity Scheme (OMSE) LIFT scheme (you own the majority share of the property and the government owns the rest). We offer LIFT on second-hand houses, not new builds.
OMSE Scheme
Help to Buy - Scotland
Help to Buy in Scotland is open to first-time buyers and existing homeowners. You can get up to 15% of the price of the property from the government, if you’re eligible.
You’ll need to pay a minimum of 85% of the total purchase price of the property. The remaining share will belong to the Scottish government as part of its shared equity agreement with you.
Please note: The Help to Buy Affordable New Build Scheme closed for new applications on the 5 February 2021, however the Help to Buy Smaller Developer Scheme remains open for the 2021-22 tax year.
The price of your property must not exceed a certain threshold price, which is set by the Scottish government and can change from one financial year to the next and is £200,000 for the 2020/21 tax year.
Even though your name will be on the title and you will hold the deeds, there will also be a mortgage or ‘standard security’ on the property, which is designed to protect the government’s share.