Homes England will check your application to ensure you can repay the loan.
They will usually take 10 business days to let you know if they have approved your application.
If your application is approved
If you are approved for an equity loan and for your mortgage, Homes England will ask you if you still want to go ahead with your project.
After accepting their offer, you can start building the house.
-
The mortgage lender will give you parts of the mortgage at different stages of construction (you can make a plan for this when getting the mortgage).
-
After completing the construction, you decide if you want to take out the equity loan.
-
If you want to take out the loan, Homes England will pay it to the mortgage lender when you have shown them your building guarantee (proof that the building has been completed).
-
The mortgage lender will subtract the loan amount from the value of the mortgage you owe.
You have 3 years to build the house. You can ask for more time if you haven’t finished building after 3 years.
Homes England will only allow more time if construction has been delayed due to circumstances beyond your control, for example import delays, staff shortages or weather conditions.
your contact
Homes England will provide you with the details of the equity loan administrator who can:
- set up a direct debit to allow you to pay the monthly management fee of £1
- manage fees and interest payments on your loan
- help you if you want to repay part or all of your loan, or make changes to your account
Make the house your only property
Once Homes England has repaid the loan to your mortgage lender, you must:
- live in the new house as your only home
- sell any other residential property or land you own, even if it is overseas, within 12 months of the completion of construction
Rent the house or buy a property
You must not:
- buy a second property
- rent the whole house (you can rent a room as long as you also live in the house)
The people who live with you
Anyone else who has applied with you must also sell any other property or land they own within 12 months of the completion of the work.
Anyone living in the house who is over the age of 17 and has not applied for the loan must complete an Occupier’s Consent Deed form to confirm that they have no ownership rights to the new house . To do this, talk to your property lawyer or licensed transfer agent.
Add another person to the loan
You need permission from Homes England to add another person to your equity loan agreement once your loan has been paid to the mortgage lender.
Change the structure of the house
After paying off the loan to the mortgage lender, you can only make changes to the structure of the house for medical reasons.
You must ask Homes England if you wish to do this. The equity loan administrator can help you with this.
