Forces Help to Buy 6 Top Tips
As a member of the armed forces, you may be interested in the Forces Help to Buy scheme. To help you understand whether this scheme is for you, we’ve produced our Forces Help to Buy 6 Top Tips. At Your Mortgage Expert, we understand how the scheme works and can advise how to use the scheme, whether as a deposit or to help with other permitted fees. To find out more, why not get in touch today?
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1. Forces Help to Buy is not just for First Time Buyers
The scheme is primarily designed for First Time Buyers. But you may be able to use the scheme under other circumstances if you’ve owned a home in the UK before. It can be used to move to another property or potentially renovate an existing property. This can be either because you have been transferred elsewhere or due to specific extenuating circumstances.
2. You can use Forces Help to Buy with other Government Schemes
The Forces Help to Buy can be used with other Government Schemes or other schemes to help with affordability. For example, you can use Forces Help to Buy alongside the Shared Ownership scheme when buying a property.
3. It can be used for a deposit and to cover other costs
While most people primarily use it for a deposit, the Scheme can be used towards some specific other costs related to your purchase. It can also be used to cover legal fees and surveyors but it cannot be held back for use after the purchase.
4. Make sure you meet the criteria
The Forces Help to Buy Scheme is open to all regular personnel who have completed the pre-requisite length of service, are not a reservist or a member of the Military Provost Guard Service, have more than six months left to serve at the time they apply and meet the right medical categories.
5. You can borrow up to £25,000
The scheme allows regular serving forces personnel to borrow an interest-free deposit of up to half their annual salary. This is capped at £25,000. This can be really useful if you’ve struggled to save for a deposit in the past.
6. You can not use it for a Buy to Let
Your purchase must be a residential property so you can’t buy it with the sole intention to rent it out. However, if your circumstances change and your lender may give you Consent to Let.
Want more information?
Applying can be quite complicated, so we would advise you speak to a mortgage broker like us who can help explain the whole process.
We are not like other brokers. We understand how Armed Forces Mortgages work and we would love to work hard for you.
We are based in Salisbury. Which means we have helped lots of forces families across the Salisbury Plain, Tidworth and Andover. But we can help you no matter where you live in the UK.
Don’t just take our word for it. Why not read about Andrew and Helen who were recommended Your Mortgage Expert by a friend. We helped them access a mortgage after Andrew left the military.
We have over 100 five star reviews on Google and over 90 verified reviews on VouchedFor. We understand that getting a mortgage as a member of the armed forces can be more complicated. We know which lenders are sympathetic to military families. We have contacts with the specialist lenders who have increased flexibility for forces families around areas like consent to let, living abroad and properties being empty for extended periods.
We hope you’ve found our Forces Help to Buy top 6 Tips useful. If you would like to speak to a member of the mortgage advice team contact Your Mortgage Expert now on 01722 322683. Or complete a contact form using the link below.
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The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate the Forces Help To Buy Scheme.
A MORTGAGE IS A LOAN SECURED AGAINST YOUR HOME. YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE OR ANY OTHER DEBT SECURED ON IT.
There may be a fee for mortgage advice. The actual amount you pay will depend upon your circumstances. The fee is up to 1% but a typical fee is 0.3% of the amount borrowed.
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“This was knight in shining armour stuff. Our conscientious mortgage broker was a delight to deal with from the off and the key to our dream home.”
Max and Martha, First Time Buyer customers from Cardiff
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“Being in the Armed Forces I am away a lot, meaning it can be hard to attend meetings, answer emails and especially hard to fill in forms. Adam and his team were extremely helpful and understanding of our situation and provided help wherever they could. After our initial meeting where we provided our required details, we actually did very little of the hard work, apart from signing a couple of papers.”
Callum and Verena, First Time Buyer Armed Forces Mortgage Customer from Salisbury
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“I expect my circumstances were fairly rare, but the help and guidance I received from you was invaluable. I feel that the personal touch you provide offers something that appeals to the soldier in me. During my service I always liked to have a point of contact, someone who was the “go to” specialist in their field. This provides a degree of assurance about a situation and it was refreshing to find that same degree of certainty transitioning to civilian life, particularly with something as important as a mortgage and buying our family home.”
Andrew and Helen, Armed Forces Mortgage Customers from Salisbury
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“Even though we were used to having a mortgage on the rental property, paying a mortgage on your own home was still a bit of a shock after years of having married quarter rental deducted from your pay at source. But, at every step along the way, we felt reassured, understood and that we really mattered to Adam. Trust is an important concept for military families and we trusted Adam.”
Fiona and Graham, Armed Forces Mortgage Customers from Wilton
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“As a contractor, it was difficult for me to obtain a mortgage through normal channels so it was great to find a mortgage adviser that specialised in contractor remortgages and understood the challenges. In addition, I had fairly tight timescales, so wanted someone who could make the process quick and hassle free.”
Andrea, Contractor Mortgage Customer from Warminster
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“I am a contractor, therefore require specialist mortgage advice. Adam has now concluded two mortgages for us (new mortgage then a contractor remortgage), and is currently arranging a buy-to-let mortgage for us. He also arranged our life insurance for us. We keep returning to him for some great reasons – he is always available, and ready to help. He provides great advice, and always ensures that he meets our requirements exactly. He is prepared to explain things in such a way that even a lummox like me can understand, and his level of service has remained consistently good over the last three years.”
Matt, Contractor Mortgage Customer from Southampton
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“Adam’s advice on the different types of critical illness and life insurance were really useful. He also worked with us to decide the best combination of policies that would work with our existing policies to cover our needs. When doing this he happily tweaked quotes for us until we came out with an arrangement that was both affordable and would provide us with the level of cover we thought appropriate.”
Hannah and Steve, Protection Insurance Customers from Stamford
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“Adam provided us with factual advice and also with options of which we were unaware. The advice on gifted equity was something we hadn’t heard about and this assisted us hugely to ensure repayments worked within our affordability. He provided us with a very personal service that made the journey from initial call, to mortgage offer and completion hassle free. We have already recommended Adam to someone and will continue to recommend his services in the future.”
Saul and Laura, Home Mover Mortgage Customers from Salisbury
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“Mike and I collected the keys to our flat this weekend and we couldn’t be happier. It’s been a long time coming but we got there! We just wanted to say a MASSIVE thank you for everything you have done for us so far. We’ve really appreciated all the help, advice and reassurance you’ve given us all the way through this process. It’s really nice to have a friendly voice on the other end of the phone.”
Mike and Bethan, First Time Buyer Mortgage Customers from London
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“Without question Adam found me a deal the estate agent’s broker couldn’t. He was very easy to contact whenever I needed him and he took time to explain the ins and outs of the Help to Buy equity loan scheme mortgage that he found me. I would rate him five out of five and will be back to use him when the time comes to remortgage or move.”
Chris, Help to Buy Mortgage Customer from Southampton