Help to buy a home in Scotland

You might be able to get financial help to buy a home if you:

• are a first-time buyer

• cannot afford the full price - but you can afford some of the cost

• rent from a local council or housing association

• are aged 60 or over

• are disabled - and your current home does not meet your needs

• are in the armed forces community.

The help available depends on your circumstances, the home you want to buy and what you can afford. Before choosing a home-buying scheme, speak to an independent financial adviser or mortgage adviser. They can help you check whether the scheme is suitable for you.

You can read more about getting financial advice.

You can read more about getting mortgage advice on our Buying a home page.

Help with a mortgage deposit

You might be able to use a UK government scheme to help you with a mortgage deposit. You could get help through:

• a government bonus for your deposit – if you’re a first time buyer, you could open a savings account that gives you a bonus on money you save towards buying a home

• a mortgage with a smaller deposit – through the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme. This is available to first-time buyers and people who already own a home.

You can read more about government schemes to help you with a mortgage deposit on the MoneyHelper website.

Shared equity schemes

Shared equity can help you buy a property if you cannot afford the full price. You pay for part of the property, and the Scottish government pays for the rest.

You’ll own the property, but the Scottish government will have a financial share in it and will get that percentage share of the property’s value when you sell it. You’ll still be responsible for the ongoing costs of the property, including:

• mortgage payments

• council tax

• insurance - such as buildings insurance and home contents insurance

• repairs - including maintenance inside and outside the property

• household bills - including energy and water costs

• shared costs - including property-factor or common-repair charges.

There might be rules about increasing your share, re-mortgaging, renting out the property or changing its ownership. Ask your solicitor to explain the shared-equity agreement before you buy the property.

The Scottish government offers 3 shared-equity schemes:

• First Homes Fund – up to £10,000 towards the cost of your first home

• Open Market Shared Equity scheme – help to buy a home on the open market

• New Supply Shared Equity scheme – help to buy a newly built home.

You can read more about shared equity schemes on mygov.scot.

Shared ownership

If your income is too low for a shared equity scheme, you might consider a shared ownership scheme instead.

With shared ownership, a housing association still owns part of your home and you pay a fee to live in it.

You’ll still be responsible for the ongoing costs of the property, including:

• mortgage payments

• council tax

• insurance - such as buildings insurance and home contents insurance

• repairs - including maintenance inside and outside the property

• household bills - including energy and water costs

• shared costs - including property-factor or common-repair charges.

You should contact housing associations in your area for more information on shared ownership properties. You can read more about shared ownership on mygov.scot.

Forces Help to Buy

The Forces Help to Buy scheme allows eligible regular service personnel to borrow up to 50% of their annual salary, interest-free, to buy a home. The maximum advance is £25,000.

The money can be used towards a deposit and other costs, such as solicitors’ and estate agents’ fees. You can read more about Forces Help to Buy on GOV.UK.