What is the Open Market Shared Equity Pilot and how does it operate?
The Open Market Shared Equity Pilot aims to help people on low incomes who wish to own their home but who cannot afford to pay the full price for a house. It is part of the range of assistance from the Scottish Government under LIFT, the Low-cost Initiative for First-Time Buyers.
The Open Market Shared Equity Pilot is available across Scotland and the table below shows the five registered social landlords or subsidiaries ("registered social landlords") who operate the pilot on behalf of the Scottish Government together with the areas they cover.
Registered social landlord | Administrative area |
Albyn Enterprises Limited | Highland Eilean Siar |
Grampian Housing Association Limited | Aberdeen City, Central, North and South Aberdeenshire and Moray |
Hjaltland Housing Association Limited | Shetland Islands |
Link Homes | Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, West Lothian, Scottish Borders and Fife Angus, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Falkirk, Perth & Kinross and Stirling Glasgow, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, East and West Dunbartonshire, Inverclyde, North and South Lanarkshire, North, South and East Ayrshire, Argyll & Bute and Dumfries & Galloway |
Orkney Housing Association Limited | Orkney Islands |
Shared equity means that the Scottish Government will keep a financial stake in the property so you do not have to fund all of it. You will pay for the majority share in the property - normally between 60 and 80 per cent of the price - and the Scottish Government will hold the remaining share under a shared equity agreement which they will enter into with you. You will own the property outright but the interests of the Scottish Government will be secured by a mortgage (or a 'standard security' as it is known in Scotland) on that property.
If you can afford a 75 per cent share of a property the Scottish Government's contribution will make up the remaining 25 per cent. You will have a 75 per cent stake in its value, whatever changes there are to the property's value over time. The price that the property is worth when you buy it is worked out by an independent professionally qualified valuer.
A solicitor acting on behalf of the Scottish Government will deal with the Scottish Government's interest in the purchase. You will pay for your share of the purchase price in the usual way, along with legal costs, and any other costs associated with the purchase such as registration dues and (if applicable) stamp duty. You do not pay any form of rent on the property.