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What is a Help to Buy agent and what is their role in the homebuying process?

Posted 6 April 2016 by Keith Osborne

A Help to Buy agent is the registered provider of Help to Buy for the region you are buying in, an organisation to guide you through the whole process of buying a home via the scheme. Your local Help to Buy agent will explain all the various options available to you as well as explaining the affordability and eligibility criteria.

Appointed by the government's Home and Communities Agency, the agents also have the authorisation to say whether someone qualifies for the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme or not. They only assist with Help to Buy Equity Loan and not the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme.

Help to Buy Agents have been specifically trained in all there is to know about Help to Buy Equity Loan. So when you're first enquiring about Help to Buy, it's your local Help to Buy agent that you should contact first. Each area of the country is assigned their own Help to Buy agent. This is usually an organisation which will have more than one actual Help to Buy agent working for them and be able to help you.

When wanting to go ahead with an equity loan, a Help to Buy agent will give you an application form for and likewise be the person you give the application back to. They will decide if you qualify or not. They do this by partly carrying out a means test to make sure you're financially capable of paying back the mortgage.

The agent you contact will not just assist you before and during the process but afterwards as well. So, for instance, they will help you set up a direct debit if and when you need to pay any fees or the interest on the loan after five years.

When you're buying a home through this government scheme, just as you would through any other way, you can often come across problems that need to be sorted out. Your Help to Buy agent is the way to overcome any issues that arise when enquiring about, or trying to buy, a new home. It's why they are an essential part of Help to Buy: Equity Loan.


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