11 hours ago
Thousands of Scots struggling to save for first home secretly barred from government's help to buy scheme
Dawn Ramsay, a Dundee-based mortgage broker, said the rule change was a 'kick in the teeth' for first time buyers
'kick in the teeth' Thousands of Scots struggling to save for first home secretly barred from government's help to buy scheme
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MOST first-time buyers have been quietly banned from an SNP government scheme to help people get on the housing ladder.
The Open Market Shared Equity scheme allows people to pay for as little as 60 per cent of a sale price, with the state buying the rest.
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Most first-time buyers have been quietly banned from the SNP help to buy scheme
Credit: Alamy
It had mostly been used by first-time buyers on lower incomes.
But now first-time buyers have been locked out of the scheme unless they fit into a 'priority' group such as social renters or people with disabilities.
Data obtained by the BBC shows that the majority of the scheme's past users did not belong to any of the priority groups.
Dawn Ramsay, a Dundee-based mortgage broker, said the rule change was a 'kick in the teeth' for first time buyers.
She said: 'It pushes the house price up because there could be five or six people looking at a property, and some of them may well have financial backing where they can pay over the asking price for that property.
'It's not a level playing field. These are the people that will keep our housing market moving.'
And Scottish Tory shadow housing secretary Meghan Gallacher said: 'This is typical of the sleekit SNP. No wonder they didn't people knowing they had quietly ditched this flagship scheme during a housing emergency that has spiralled on their watch.
'SNP ministers appear hellbent on turning their noses up at those with aspirations of getting on the property ladder with short-sighted decisions like this.'
Last year, 182 out of 210 successful OMSE purchases were made by first-time buyers with just six per cent in the priority groups.
The scheme does not allow househunters to bid over the asking price so low-income buyers are frequently outbid by those that can afford to pay over the odds for property, particularly investors.
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The scheme opened in 2007 and was mostly used by low-income first-time buyers seeking a way out of private lets or family homes.
The Scottish Government declared a national housing emergency in May last year pledging to increase housing supply and tackle homelessness, with more than four in 10 Scots struggling to meet housing costs.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'Supporting social renters to make the transition to affordable home ownership will help free up social rented accommodation, which in turn could help families move out of temporary accommodation.'
