There are two new products which replace Open Market HomeBuy. Product one is Ownhome HomeBuy and product two is MyChoice HomeBuy.
How MyChoice HomeBuy works
MyChoiceHomeBuy is a new product designed to help first-time buyers and people who cannot afford to buy a suitable size home on the open market to bridge the gap and make the dream of owning a home an affordable reality.
You can receive as much as 50% or as little as 15% equity towards purchasing a home of your choice on the open market. This equity comes from funds provided by government and by Metropolitan Home Ownership (MHO). The amount of help you receive will depend on the size of mortgage you can afford and the sort of home you need but could amount to as much as £140,000.
You can use any approved participating lender and so can choose the best deal for you with the expert help of on one of our FSA accredited independent financial advisors. With MyChoiceHomeBuy, the choice is yours.
You pay a small monthly fee on the MyChoiceHomeBuy equity, this is capped at 1.75 % for the first year and is then index linked (rising at RPI plus 1%) so your repayments are manageable and predictable.
You can buy a further share, or even own your home outright, this is known as ‘staircasing’. In general after you have lived in your home for one year you can buy an increased share or buy it outright. The price of the increased share will be based on the value of your home at the time you want to staircase – whether that is more or less than when you originally bought.
You repay your MyChoiceHomeBuy equity when you sell your home. In both situations, the amount you repay will be linked to the value of your home – if MyChoiceHomeBuy contributed 15% towards the purchase, then you will repay MyChoiceHomeBuy 15 % of the value when you sell… even if this is worth less than when you bought it.
Who can apply?
If you are a social housing tenant (for example, you rent your home from a council or a housing association), are in priority housing need, on a local authority housing waiting list or are simply a first time buyer you could be eligible provided your household income is less than £60,000 (this income level varies from region to region, please check with us to confirm). A list of eligible first-time buyers is available on www.mho.co.uk.
Your local HomeBuy agent will establish if you qualify for MyChoice HomeBuy. For more information, call MHO on 0845 602 7184 or your local HomeBuy agent on 0845 607 6726.
If you don’t qualify, the HomeBuy agent will be able to offer you advice on any other help available to you.
For further information and examples of how MyChoiceHomeBuy could work for you, download the MyChoiceHomeBuy leaflet.