How to get a Right to Buy mortgage
You can use this comparison to find a mortgage you can use with the Right to Buy scheme.
A Right to Buy mortgage allows you to buy your council house at a discounted price if you have been a council tenant for three years or more.
Here is everything you need to know about Right to Buy explained
Work out your discount
This is worked out as a percentage of the house's price. How much you get depends on:
How long you have lived in your home
Where in the UK you live
Whether you live in a flat or a house
Before you buy it, your landlord has to confirm how much it will cost. The discount is paid to the seller by the government and taken off the amount you have to pay.
You can work out your discount using this Right to Buy calculator.
Here is how to start the Right to Buy process and get a valuation from your landlord.
Using the discount as your deposit
You usually have to save up a deposit when you get a mortgage. This is the percentage of the house's price that you pay yourself, and your mortgage covers the rest.
Some Right to buy mortgage lenders let you use the discount instead of a deposit. For example, if you bought a house worth £100,000 and had been given a discount of 50%, you would need a mortgage for £50,000.
The percentage of the cost that the mortgage covers is called the loan to value (LTV).
Because the amount borrowed is 50% of the house's value, some lenders will not make you pay a deposit.
However, you will still need to pay other upfront costs like mortgage, survey and solicitor fees.
Choose a mortgage
You can use most mortgages with the Right to Buy scheme, and this comparison includes all the types of mortgage you can get. Here is how to decide what type is best for you.
Compare the interest rate and any fees that come with each right to buy mortgage to work out which is cheapest. Find out more about how much interest and fees cost here.
Lenders will check you can afford the monthly payments before they accept you. If you have bad credit or a low income, you could contact a broker for advice finding a Right to Buy mortgage.
What if you want to buy a different home?
You can only use Right to Buy for a council house you live in already. If you want to live elsewhere, these schemes can help you buy your first home.
