Housing Options Guide-4
4. Home ownership
This section has information to help you become a home owner and tells you about:
- Low-cost Initiative for first time buyers (LIFT)
- Help to Buy (Scotland) Affordable New Build scheme
- Scheme of Assistance
- Shared ownership
- Renovating empty homes
- Shared equity for older people
Low-cost Initiative (LIFT)
The Scottish Government is committed to supporting home ownership in a balanced and sustainable way by helping people on low to moderate incomes to become home owners, where that is affordable for them.
Its Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers (LIFT) brings together several ways to help households access home ownership. These include:
New Supply Shared Equity (NSSE)
This allows first time buyers to buy a new build property from a housing association.
More information can be found by clicking the following link: The New Supply Shared Equity Scheme.
Note: Moray does not have any New Supply Shared Equity properties at this time.
Open Market Shared Equity (OMSE)
Allows people on low to moderate incomes to buy homes that are for sale on the open market where it is affordable for them to do so. The scheme is currently open to help all first time buyers. Priority access will be given to priority group applicants which include people who rent a property from either a local authority or a housing association, disabled people, members of the armed forces, veterans who have left the armed forces within the past two years, and widows, widowers and other partners of service personnel for up to two years after their partner has been killed while serving in the armed forces.
More information can be found by clicking the following link: Open Market Scheme.
Help to Buy (Scotland) Affordable New Build and Help to Buy (Scotland) Smaller Developers scheme
Launched on 21 January 2016, comprising of two schemes which help buyers who would not otherwise be able to buy an affordable new build home from a participating home builder. The rules to both schemes are identical and the agents administering the schemes will identify which scheme your application is to be processed under.
The threshold prices for the scheme are £230,000 for purchases which complete on or before 31 March 2017, £200,000 for purchases on or before 31 March 2018, and £157,000 for purchases on or before 31 March 2019.
The following links provide a summary of how the Help to Buy (Scotland) Affordable New Build schemes work and further details.
Information leaflet for buyers
Scheme of Assistance
The Scheme of Assistance helps homeowners and private tenants look after their homes and sets out the forms of assistance that may be available to help them repair, maintain, improve or adapt their homes.
More information can be found by clicking the following link: The Scheme of Assistance pdf.
Shared equity for older people
If you are aged 60 or over and want to buy a new home but can't afford the total cost, you might be able to get help through on the the Scottish Government's Shared Equity schemes.
These include:
- the Open Market Shared Equity scheme (OMSE)
- the Help to Buy (Scotland) Affordable New Build and Smaller Developers schemes
- the New Supply Shared Equity scheme (NSSE)
Although these schemes are available to anyone who's eligible, people aged 60 or over are one of the priority access groups.
The following link provides full details for the over 60s: Shared equity for older people