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Applying for your Right to Buy
For many people paying rent on a property they intend staying in for any length of time is considered dead money, that is to say other than having a roof over their head they do not see themselves benefiting financially by paying rent in the long term.
Council and social housing tenants in England have had the right to buy their property at substantial discounts depending on how long they have been a tenant, allowing people who exercise their right to buy to benefit from all the years they have paid rent (by way of a discount) and benefit in the future by investing in their own property.
What is the right to buy process?
The right to buy process can be very complicated as you are dealing with council and government legislation, for example, a normal house purchase will require only one solicitor to act for both parties - a right to buy purchase will require two solicitor firms, one to act for the lender and borrower and one to act on behalf of the council.
Speak to a specialist broker, by speaking to a specialist right to buy broker who is very familiar with the right to buy process and mortgage lending criteria you will be able to save time, money and lots of stress.
- Save Time
- Save Stress
- Save Money
There are also a number of forms which must be completed correctly in order to start the right to buy process and proceed through to completion.
The first form to be completed is an RTB1 which lets the council know you intend to exercise you right to buy, an the RTB1 has been submitted you will receive form RTB2 which should be completed correctly and returned to the council after which a council valuation can take place which will detail the property details and the council property valuation, the discount you are entitled to and the purchase price, this is not just a simple valuation report, the form detailing all this information is called an S125.
The lender will also require a valuation to be carried out showing the open market valuation (OMV) - most lenders will work of the OMV when working out the mortgage Loan to Value (LTV) they will let you borrow which can make a mortgage more accessible, the LTV can also be affected by your affordability or the way a lender works out your mortgage income and affordability and your credit history.
Are you sitting on a gold mine?
A few right to buy specialists will do absolutely everything for you without you paying for anything until the mortgage has completed, doing things this way will mean you don't put your finances at risk by paying for valuations or solicitors up front.
A specialist mortgage broker can take on the full financial risk of paying for the up front costs and will only redeem their costs if the mortgage completes which is usually a great source of relieve for borrowers who are lucky enough to have a good right to buy broker on their side.
A broker who is not so familiar with the right to buy process can equally make things go very wrong by not knowing fully the lenders underwriting criteria and by not understanding the many processes that have to be completed in order to comply to the right to buy scheme.
For a full explanation of the right to buy process and to find out if you can benefit from exercising your right to buy simply complete the form at the top of this page.
