Help to Buy Redemption Solicitor
Are you a Help to Buy homeowner looking to redeem your equity loan? Our expert solicitors can guide you through this complex process through to completion. Join the hundreds of homeowners who've benefited from our Help to Buy equity loan redemption service.
Our fixed fees are transparent and upfront, with no hidden costs. You'll receive a detailed quote before proceeding.
How can you contact Help to Buy?
- Email: customerservices@myhelptobuyloan.co.uk
- Address: Help to Buy customer services, PO Box 5262, Lancing, BN99 9HE
The Help to Buy administrator has now changed; please liaise with Homes England for customer services on your Help to Buy loan.
Help to Buy redemption through remortgage, sale, or staircasing
Click to see the different processes to redeem your Help to Buy loan through a sale, remortgage paying in full or staircasing part of the loan:
Can I pay off my Help to Buy loan by remortgaging?
You can start the Help to Buy Redeem process without selling. This process covers if you don't sell the property but do settle the equity loan in full (normally through a remortgage, further loan, or personal savings).
- 1Mortgage Valuation - Obtain a RICS Valuation, we have valuers available this week*, and reports are sent in 5 working days.
- 2Application - Submit your Help to Buy Application Form, including your RICS valuation and pay your admin fee.
- 3ID - Provide your ID and Source of Funds.
- 4Mortgage offer - You progress your mortgage application, and once approved, the mortgage offer/further advance letter is sent to your solicitor. This can take 10 to 20 working days.
- 5Source of Funds Certificate - Your Solicitor reviews the offer and, if satisfied, submits a Certificate of Source of Funds to Help to Buy within 3 working days.
- 6Redemption Statement - Help to Buy issue a Redemption Statement within 10 to 15 working days. You can chase them to speed this along.
- 7Completion Statement - Your solicitor prepares the file for completion and sends their legal undertaking to Help to Buy, requesting their Authority to Complete.
- 8Authority to Complete - Help to Buy reply after 15 working days. You can chase them to speed this along.
- 9Completion - Your solicitor draws down the new mortgage or further advance and pays off the loan and old mortgage if applicable. If repaid in full, an e-DS1 is submitted to the Land Registry to remove the charge from the title. If a partial repayment is made, a memorandum of staircasing is issued confirming the amount remaining on the Help to Buy equity loan.
Can I sell my house if I have Help to Buy?
You can sell the property over which the loan is secured. However, it is important to remember that you must repay the equity loan in full regardless of whether the property has gone up or down in value. The loan repayable is calculated as the loan percentage of either the current market value of your home or the agreed sale price (whichever is higher).
To sell your property, you will need to:
- 1Mortgage Valuation - Obtain a RICS Valuation, we have valuers available this week*, and reports are sent in 5 working days.
- 2Application - Submit your Help to Buy Application Form, including your RICS valuation and pay your admin fee.
- 3ID - Provide your ID.
- 4Redemption Statement - Help to Buy issue a Redemption Statement within 10 to 15 working days - faster if you chase them.
- 5Completion Statement - Your solicitor prepares the file for completion and sends their legal undertaking to Help to Buy, requesting their Authority to Complete.
- 6Authority to Complete - Help to Buy reply after 15 working days - faster if you chase them.
- 7Completion - On the completion of the sale, your solicitor repays the loan in full from the proceeds. An e-DS1 is submitted to the Land Registry to remove the charge from the title.
Your loan at the outset was 20% of the purchase price of £250,000 then the loan value at that time was £50,000. When you sell you agree a sale price of £300,000 which means the value to repay the loan is 20% of £300,000 which is £60,000. Read more - How to Sell a Help to Buy Property.
Help to Buy Staircasing allows you to partially redeem your Help to Buy equity loan while owning more equity in your home. Read more - How do I partially staircase a Help to Buy?.
- 1Mortgage Valuation - Obtain a RICS Valuation.
- 2Application - Submit your Help to Buy Application Form, including your RICS valuation and pay your admin fee.
- 3Provide your ID & source of funds.
- 4Source of Funds Certificate - Your Solicitor reviews the source of refunds within 5 working days and often requests further evidence. Once satisfied, the solicitor submits a Certificate of Source of Funds to Help to Buy, within 3 working days.
- 5Redemption Statement - Help to Buy issue a Redemption Statement within 10 to 15 working days - faster if you chase them.
- 6Completion Statement - Your solicitor prepares the file for completion and sends their legal undertaking to Help to Buy, requesting their Authority to Complete.
- 7Payment - At this stage, you transfer the full amount for the loan repayment into the solicitor's account, who will hold it until completion day.
- 8Authority to Complete - Help to Buy reply after 15 working days - faster if you chase them.
- 9Completion - Your solicitor pays in the completion monies. If a partial repayment is made, a memorandum of staircasing is issued confirming the amount remaining on the Help to Buy equity loan.
Your loan at the outset was 20% of the purchase price of £250,000, then the loan value at that time was £50,000. When you staircase, you agree on a property valuation of £300,000 and to staircase 10%, which means the value to repay the loan is 10% of £300,000, which is £30,000.
What are the requirements to staircase a Help to Buy equity loan?
- The minimum amount you can staircase at one time is 10% (of the total market value of the property at the time you staircase);
- The above requirement means that when the lenders’ equity in your property is less than 20%, you can only repay the loan in full;
- You may only staircase in multiples of 10%, that is 10%, 20%, 30% etc; and
- You cannot staircase if there are any arrears of interest payments and/or management fees on your mortgage account. Any arrears must be cleared, before a staircase transaction can proceed.
From local RICS surveyors for a Help to Buy valuation to expert solicitors for remortgaging or selling your Help to Buy property, SAM has you covered.
We're on 99% of mortgage lender panels and provide fixed-fee, no-obligation quotes for all your Help to Buy needs. Property challenges solved.
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How do you redeem Help to Buy?
Help to Buy redemption is the process undertaken by homeowners who originally used the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme to buy their first property. The loan is often repaid at the end of the first fixed mortgage term and settled by:
- Remortgaging.
- Personal savings, a further loan, or a gift from family.
- Selling your property.
Before you redeem Help to Buy
It is important to note that the Help to Buy loan is a percentage-based loan, meaning the amount owed to the government is directly related to the property's valuation. Because of this, any changes in the property's value will impact the repayment amount.
The Help to Buy equity loan offers an advantage during the initial five years by being interest-free. Interest charges begin in the sixth year with the initial rate set at 1.75% increasing annually, taking into account the Retail Prices Index (RPI) plus an additional 1%. This means that the interest rate is variable and can fluctuate over time.
It's crucial to remember that this interest is separate from your mortgage interest. You have two separate payments: one for your mortgage and another for the equity loan interest.
Help to Buy Solicitors Fees
Our experienced conveyancing solicitors can help you repay your Help to Buy loan from £629. Our Fixed Fee quotes are truly fixed with no hidden extras, and we're rated Excellent on Trustpilot.
Get a free, no-obligation online quote today.
What are the requirements for the RICS valuation surveyor?
All of SAM's RICS valuers are Help to Buy-compliant
- The Valuer must be registered with the recognised qualification of RICS;
- The Valuer must be independent to an estate agent;
- The report must be on headed paper, signed by the RICS surveyor and addressed to the Administrator;
- The Valuer MUST provide at least 3 comparable properties and sale prices;
- The comparables provided must be like for like in terms of property type, size, and age and within a 2-mile radius to the property that is being inspected;
- The Valuer must not be related or known to you;
- The Valuer must inspect the interior of the property and provide a full valuation report;
- Valuations carried out for bank or mortgage purposes are not acceptable, and
- A copy of the valuation report must be supplied to the Administrator; the inspection date must be shown.
Once your surveyor sends you the Help to Buy valuation report, you have 3 months to complete the repayment.
The process is known as either Help to Buy Redemption, Repayment or Help to Buy Staircasing. You'll need to:
- Complete your Help to Buy application form.
- Provide your solicitor's contact details.
- Send your completed form and valuation report to Homes England.
- Pay your administration fee by cheque or by card over the phone.
This form can only be used for a Help to Buy Repayment Transaction.
Can you use a Desktop Valuation instead of a RICS Help to Buy valuation?
No. You must always instruct an in-person RICS Help to Buy valuation in the first instance, but this valuation is only valid for 3 months.
After these 3 months have passed and you have not remortgaged or sold the property, you will need to get another valuation.
Some homeowners opt for a Desktop Valuation which involves the same surveyor viewing the property online (using information from the Land Registry, council records, and data on similar properties in the area) and giving a valuation update, valid for another 3 months.
If those 3 months pass, you will need to instruct another in-person valuation.
We offer desktop valuations from £180 INC VAT. Get in touch with us if we handled your initial valuation.
Serving in the armed forces?
There's a Help to Buy scheme just for you! Better yet, there's no interest to pay as long as you stay within the forces.
What happens after 5 years Help to Buy?
You do not pay any interest on your loan for the first 5 years after you buy a house using the Help to Buy Scheme. Once that period is up, you will be charged an interest fee of 1.75% of the loan you took. For example, if you borrow 20% of the purchase price of your house, the interest rate only applies to that 20%.
This raises the possibility of a shortfall where if the property value decreases, the Help to Buy homeowner is liable to pay the original percentage contribution for the equity loan even if the property sale proceeds are less than expected.
Take a look at our Help to Buy repayment calculator to find out estimates on your monthly mortgage payments. For more information on if Help to Buy will return, read more here - Is Help to Buy Coming Back in 2024?
Caragh is an excellent writer and copy editor of books, news articles and editorials. She has written extensively for SAM for a variety of conveyancing, survey, property law and mortgage-related articles.
