📝 Complete Guide to Help to Buy in the UK
This Help to Buy calculator UK helps you understand the government's equity loan scheme. The Help to Buy scheme helps first-time buyers purchase a new-build home with just a 5% deposit, with the government providing an equity loan of up to 20% (40% in London).
💰 How Help to Buy Works
The Help to Buy scheme breaks down your property purchase into three parts:
- Your Deposit: 5% of the property price
- Government Equity Loan: 20% (40% in London) interest-free for 5 years
- Mortgage: 75% (55% in London) from a lender
- Example: £300,000 property = £15,000 deposit + £60,000 equity loan + £225,000 mortgage
📊 Help to Buy Eligibility (2026)
- First-time buyer: Must not have owned a property before
- New-build property: Only available for new-build homes
- Price cap: £600,000 in England (varies by region)
- Main residence: Property must be your main home
- Affordability: Must pass mortgage affordability checks
📈 Help to Buy Costs
- Equity Loan: Interest-free for first 5 years
- Year 6+ Interest: 1.75% + RPI (currently 2.5-3.5%)
- Example: £60,000 loan at 5% interest = £3,000/year (£250/month)
- Repayment: When you sell or after 25 years
- Mortgage Payments: Based on 75% LTV mortgage
🏠 Help to Buy vs Other Schemes
- Help to Buy vs Shared Ownership: Shared Ownership is part-buy, part-rent
- Help to Buy vs Lifetime ISA: LISA gives 25% bonus on savings (max £4,000/year)
- Help to Buy vs 95% Mortgage: 95% mortgages available but higher rates
- Help to Buy vs First Homes: First Homes offer 30-50% discounts
💰 Is Help to Buy Worth It?
- Pros: Lower deposit (5%), lower monthly payments initially
- Cons: Equity loan must be repaid, interest after 5 years
- New-build premium: New-builds cost 10-20% more than existing homes
- Regional variations: London gets 40% equity loan vs 20% elsewhere
📊 UK Help to Buy Statistics (2026)
- Over 350,000 Help to Buy purchases since 2013
- Average Help to Buy property price: £280,000
- Average equity loan: £56,000
- First-time buyers: 98% of Help to Buy users
- London accounts for 25% of all Help to Buy purchases
💡 Tips for Using Help to Buy
- Save for Stamp Duty: You still need to pay stamp duty
- Plan for Interest: Save extra for years 6-25 interest payments
- Consider Repayment: Make voluntary repayments to reduce equity loan
- Property Type: Only available for new-builds (check developer)
- Regional Rules: Check specific rules for Scotland, Wales, NI
- Mortgage Advice: Use a whole-of-market mortgage broker
⚠️ Important Considerations
- Help to Buy is ending in England (March 2023, but extended)
- Equity loan must be repaid when you sell or after 25 years
- You need to pay stamp duty on full property price
- New-build homes often have service charges
- Regional differences in scheme availability