Help to Buy and Staircasing Valuations

If you have bought a property with assistance from the Government’s Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme, you may at some point wish to repay some, or all, of the loan you received.

Known as “staircasing”, repaying your Help to Buy loan allows you to gain more equity in your home, reducing /removing the need to repay this portion back to the government when you sell the property.

Additionally, although a large part of the appeal of Help to Buy is that you can borrow up to 20% (or up to 40% in London boroughs) from the Government interest free, this arrangement only stands for the first five years you own the property, after which point you will need to start paying interest.  This is another reason that many home owners who bought using Help to Buy look to “staircase”.

Valuation Reports for Help to Buy Transactions

As homes purchased using the Help to Buy Equity Scheme are effectively part-owned by the Government, any transaction, be that staircasing or selling, requires an up to date property Valuation Report to be conducted. This allows the amount you need to repay to be accurately calculated. The Valuation Report must be prepared by a RICS Registered Valuer – a report from any other source will not be accepted.

Matthew Parkinson is able to assist home owners who bought their property using Help to Buy. Matthew is registered with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Our Valuation Reports are produced in line with RICS Valuation standards and are therefore fully compliant with Help to Buy loan provider requirements.

Contact our Chartered Surveyors

Matthew Parkinson can assist home owners throughout his home town of Lancaster as well as the wider areas of Lancashire, Preston, Cumbria and the Yorkshire Dales. Proving a professional yet personal service, Matthew and his team can be contacted here.