2017-21 help to buy scheme - megathread. All help to buy discussion here please

DubLad69 · 11-12-2021 12:43pm

When uploading the contract to revenue, does it just need to be signed by us? Or does it need to be signed by developer too?

FA12345 · 04-01-2022 4:15pm

Hi folks, looking for some advice about HTB to see if you think we qualify as I believe we have a slightly unusual situation. Sorry for the long message!

So back in 2018 (can't remember off the top of my head for the purpose of this thread), we agreed with my in-laws to purchase the side site of their property at market value. Part of the site included a small portion of their current property. We applied for planning permission to subdivide the property, then to demolish the existing property that lay on the side site and rebuild our house. We were granted full permission by the council, then at the end of 2019 we started the process by demolishing what was there.

In 2020, my husbands business was shut down due to Covid so we decided to continue to do the build ourselves as my father in law used to work as a builder back in the day so we had a fair bit of advice from him. Bit by bit during lockdowns, we built up the house by ourselves. My business was doing ok during the pandemic so we took our time and paid from my wages for things like windows or the roof etc where we hired independent labour, and I also had a small inheritance and a bank loan that helped with funding it.

Essentially, we did most of the work ourselves. In the meantime, we had solicitors drawing up the mortgage agreement between us and his parents, so there is a charge against the property for the cost of the original site. We have managed to build our home which is A rated (or will be as soon as I get around to getting the BER people back in). We now plan to go and get a mortgage from a commercial lender to pay off the charge against the site (which the paperwork calls a mortgage). I'm wondering would we qualify for HTB to help us out? It would be a great help considering my husbands business cost us a small fortune to keep open over the last two years with all the lockdowns! I think he was closed for a total of 11 months since the start of the pandemic.

I hope this makes sense! Any questions, please ask!

unknowngirl!! · 04-01-2022 5:17pm

Would really appreciate any advice from people in the know. FTB buying a new build. Just realised that the developer is not on the qualified contractor list. Is there any reason they wouldn't be? Is it outrageous to contact them and ask them to apply to be a registered contractor?

DubLad69 · 05-01-2022 8:04pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118416936#Comment_118416936

They most likely are on the list, just under a different name. Ask the developer themselves.

DubLad69 · 05-01-2022 8:04pm

Does anyone know how long it takes for a HTB application to be assessed? House is ready to move into, just waiting on the HTB.

Pete123456 · 05-01-2022 9:23pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118422984#Comment_118422984

This time last year they were crazy busy and backlogged - I expect it was the same this year. Took them 3+ weeks to get through some applications. If you’re under pressure, ring the helpline and explain you’re under pressure from solicitors etc. sometimes they want proof to escalate, other times they seem happy to from what I’ve read

DubLad69 · 06-01-2022 12:45pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118423384#Comment_118423384

Thanks, I've been trying that, although, every time I call they say they are too busy to take my call. Try again later.

I'll keep trying though, thanks

Pete123456 · 06-01-2022 5:05pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118426107#Comment_118426107

If you ring on the second the phone lines open in the morning you might have a better chance

noler123 · 06-01-2022 6:13pm

Hi folks, hopefully someone can help.

We got approved for our HTB this morning. We had been approved last year and it seemed straightforward enough, we were approved for X amount, got a application code and an access code to give to the builder.

This year's is the same but there's a Claim button that brings you to a page looking for us to upload our documents. Is this a new thing or did I just not notice it on last year's claim? We have just signed our contacts for the house.

DubLad69 · 06-01-2022 7:51pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118428400#Comment_118428400

That's always been there. Can I ask when you applied to have gotten it approved today?

Ladybug14 · 06-01-2022 8:00pm

I reapplied on Tuesday and it was approved yesterday, less than 24hours

noler123 · 06-01-2022 8:44pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118429054#Comment_118429054

Applied on the 1st or 2nd not sure. Was surprised it was so quick myself!

nd272 · 11-01-2022 5:23pm

can someone explain to me the process when closing the mortgage with HTB

in my case I paid a deposit of 5k initially to auctioneer to secure property.

price is 196k

htb I was approved for is 19.3k

what happens to the money left over?

by my account the htb more or less cover full deposit of 10% give or take €300.

solicitor fees and stamp duty etc they costed at 3.8k approx.

do I get my 5k back at end or what’s the story here?

thanks in advance

Dublinandy3 · 12-01-2022 8:54am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118456444#Comment_118456444

We are the same and my solicitor (though I do question her competence a lot) told me the 5k come off the house price, so your mortgage should be 5k less.

babelavante · 13-01-2022 10:31am

Hi I applied for HTB on 2nd of Jan and just got approved last night. Does anyone know if the expiry date is actually 31.12.2022 or is there a chance they will scrap HTB before the year is out? Thanks

Fawkon · 15-01-2022 2:42pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118466008#Comment_118466008

Very unlikely that they will scrap it before the end of the year, I think you are safe to presume you have until end of 2022 to use.

IrishWhiskey · 19-01-2022 3:11pm

I was approved for HTB in late 2020 when applying for Mortgage with PTSB. Was very fast, Got approved in principal.

Reapplied again in Jan 2021 but this time it seemed to take much longer, I needed to send a request to myenquires and it was eventually approved. I think this one was maybe 1.5 - 2 weeks?

House construction was not completed by end of 2021 so I needed to reapply for HTB. First I got my statement of liability sorted for 2021 as I know you need this to be in order for HTB.

I made a new claim for 2022 on 11/01/22 and explained that I was previously approved in 2021 but it expired due to construction on the house not being complete.

I then range the PAYE line on Friday and they said there is no front office or direct line to speak to anyone from HTB. She said that HTB have informed PAYE that there is a large volume of applications and that they complete them in the order they were submitted.

She said that they can only escalate if someone might loose the house. She advised it would be best to send another message to my enquires and include the address so they have something on file and also include things like approval in principal and signed contracts etc...

I submitted those documents as well as my new address and how much my mortgage was for and how much deposit I had paid so far as well as the price of the house.

This was on the 14/01/2022.

The builders have informed me that work on the house will complete this Thursday on 20/01/2022 and I mentioned this in my enquiry to revenue. So far it is 19/01/22 and no reply to my enquires and my HTB application still just says "under review".

My solicitor reached out to me mentioning that the builder's solicitor has reached out to him mentioning that they will be ready to finish work on the house in the coming days and requested if we have the HTB access codes yet.

I'm starting to get worried that this might be delayed by a while as I have no indication from revenue when my HTB application will be approved. Is there any advice anyone can give about what I should do to speed this up? All my tax is in order (as far as I know) for the previous 4 years so I have no idea what the hold up is exactly.

I didn't say in my enquiries "I'm afraid I might lose the house" but I did mention that drawdown should potentially take place next week. So now I suppose I might actually get into a situation where I could be at risk of losing the house if HTB is not approved soon.

ilovefridays66 · 19-01-2022 4:47pm

Similar situation myself, although not anywhere near completion on the house but waiting weeks on HTB. Seems there's a massive backlog. They said they would escalate mine too but so far nothing.

Thor · 19-01-2022 8:22pm

Same here, we are sale agreed on a new build which is already pretty much done, and waiting on HTB.

I know their busy because of returns and everyone reapplying but they really need a better system for escalating for those sale agreed and needing the details. We were already approved last year. At this stage it should be automatic.

Sitting here waiting for someone to see the enquiry is so nerve wrecking.

kev_s88 · 19-01-2022 10:56pm

We were approved last year, and had to reapply this year. Applied on Jan 5th. I had an issue where I needed to apply for a Tax Clearance Cert, which I did a couple of days later. Haven't heard anything from them since.

Were due to sign contracts in a week or 2 and would really love to have everything sorted before then

Charlie 22 · 20-01-2022 10:25am

I got re-approved for my 2022 HTB straight away by not using 2021 as a tax year. It is not mandatory to use the most recent year.

I just ticked 2018, 2019, 2020 which was on my old approval from last year and it re-issued right away. Might help some people out there but you will need to have enough tax from 3 years instead of 4 so bear that in mind.

Thor · 21-01-2022 5:20pm

No change today, still waiting on a reply and HTB approval.

rogercross · 24-01-2022 12:48pm

I've been working abroad for 2 years but will be moving home to buy, can I apply for the help to buy to cover just 2019/2020 seeing as I was paying tax in Ireland during these years?

Creamy Goodness · 24-01-2022 12:53pm

You can any of the past four years I believe.

boardieboard · 25-01-2022 1:07am

Has anyone had an issue where the builder was only able to claim for one part of a group? We we’re both entitled to the full €30,000 and instead of just using one person to claim the €30,000 we spilt it and the builders solicitor got back to my solicitor saying they could only claim for one person and there is an outstanding sum of our deposit that they were unable to claim. We uploaded signed contracts so I’m very confused why they were not able to claim the full amount with our claim number. I know that sounds very confusing but I am very confused and also worried that this is an issue that revenue will take a long time to resolve.

coffeelover · 27-01-2022 10:37pm

For self builds, should we apply at drawdown & does the house have to be completed within a certain timeframe?

Do people think this will get extended? We spent a year abroad in the last four so not sure whether to wait another two years so we can claim the full 4 years working here.

Help_Dubai · 28-01-2022 10:45pm

General question guys, do agents / developers accept the HTB (as in the codes to drawdown from Revenue) as the deposit when signing the contracts? I know it can take 5 or so days for those funds to be released…. Or… do some insist on the deposit immediately and take the HTB off from the total at a later stage? Also, will they return the booking deposit at that point if the HTB covers the full 10%?

HerrKapitan · 29-01-2022 12:27am

Yes, you can give the access codes as deposit.

You won't get the booking deposit refunded to you after contract signing. It will be taken off the mortgage amount.

Notorious93 · 09-02-2022 5:05pm

Can anyone confirm if it is standard to get the payment for self builds in two different payments for joint applications? Got half the claim amount so far. The full claim amount is meant to be split equally between 2 of us.

DuffleBag · 01-03-2022 1:24pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118528798#Comment_118528798

Am actually in the same boat. Did you get any clarity??

Help_Dubai · 15-03-2022 9:11pm

Is it a big deal for a developer to get approved for the HTB scheme with revenue? A place has come up where the developer isn’t registered yet but doesn’t seem adverse to getting approved.

howiya · 24-03-2022 9:41am

When submitting a HTB application does it need to be for all parties to the mortgage or can one person apply on their own?

Eg. say one party to the mortgage would have paid sufficient tax to qualify for the full tax relief on their own. Does the second person need to also apply?

Pointed a relative to this thread. I'd imagine it's already covered and they didn't look too hard.

gramo · 24-03-2022 9:17pm

Just noticed that there is no relief if its over 500,000.

Myself and the wife had been looking at a property that is 520,000. Has anyone gotten any relief with it been over the threshold?

TG683 · 24-03-2022 10:02pm

Hi everyone,

Myself and partner approved for full €30,000. I applied for claim today. I uploaded our signed contracts and noticed afterwards that my loan offer letter didn't upload. There is no way of adding it now, and my solicitor said not to cancel it at this stage. Just wondering has anyone been in a similar situation and what happened?

Thanks ☺️

12-05-2022 10:17am

Hello,

Does anyone here know does the HTB application expire?

During renewal of mortgage offer our bank has stated that we need to reapply to htb as our htb application started last year.

Our mortgage advisor is surprised as she thought there are no more expiry dates on them.

My online application on revenue shows as approved with solicitor and money is ready. I received that message from revenue this February so i do not think it is expired.

I'm getting the feeling the bank want to delay until mortgage rates go up soon.

Adelie · 22-05-2022 9:21am

Before giving us loan offer AIB is asking “If you intend to use the Help To Buy scheme as part of your deposit please upload confirmation of your approval from Revenue”

But we still didn’t get HTB approval from Revenue. And I read they won’t speed it up until we have loan offer. But we are able to pay the house deposit to the developer from our savings. Does that mean we can still get a loan offer even without sending them HTB approval?

Dublinandy3 · 22-05-2022 12:24pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119050060#Comment_119050060

AFAIK, and in my own experience, the HTB offer expires yearly unless claimed before the end of the year even if not used.

We only just moved in and mortgage drawn down but our HTB was from last year, we however made sure the builder claimed for it before the end of last year so we didn't have to put a new claim in this year.

Dublinandy3 · 22-05-2022 12:28pm

Approval is confirmation you are eligible and the amounts. You're given an application amount and code, that's all the bank needs.

https://www.revenue.ie/en/property/documents/htb-summary-applicants.pdf

24-05-2022 11:25am

Thanks, I probably should have updated. The HTB money had already been transferred to the builders in February, thus no more expiry.

I had only received a message that funds would be transferred soon, and no message when they actually did transfer.

Bank were happy enough in the end.

Dublinandy3 · 24-05-2022 6:06pm

Great news, good luck with the move!

Loz Ella · 04-06-2022 9:00pm

Hi everyone, do any of you know if a couple wishing to buy a new build are both able to apply for Help To Buy or can only one of them do so? If both can, is there a combined €30,000 limit or is that per person (depending on the tax you've paid in the previous four years). Any help you can give would be appreciated.

Creamy Goodness · 04-06-2022 9:45pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119159194#Comment_119159194

It’s max 30k per application. As a couple you can use your best 4 tax years to apply and not of you must be deemed first time buyers. Unfortunately it’s not per person and there are limits on the LTV (loan to value) of the property (70%) and there’s a max purchase price too.

more info here https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/owning_a_home/help_with_buying_a_home/help_to_buy_incentive.html

howiya · 04-06-2022 9:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119159194#Comment_119159194

The 30k is the maximum relief available. When each person applies via their own revenue online it will tell them how much relief they are eligible for on their own so it might say that X is eligible for 30k and y is eligible for 22k. That doesn't mean you will get 52k. The maximum relief available is 30k.

Regarding whether to apply on your own or not, I looked into this for a relative earlier in the year. When claiming the relief, the revenue website says all parties to the loan offer must be named in the HTB application.

In my relatives case they'd applied on their own as they were eligible for the max relief on their own and then came up against this when they went to claim. Wasn't a huge issue as they cancelled the application and reapplied jointly and gave the new access codes to the builder. The builder had no issue as they only look to claim once the contracts are signed as this is one of the docs to upload when claiming along with loan offer.

JimmyCorkhill · 04-06-2022 10:46pm

Hi Folks,

A couple of questions on the HTB scheme:

Do people think it will extend beyond December 2022?
It says you need to apply for a mortgage that is 70% of the purchase price. If for example, the house was 400,000 and you had combined savings of 150,000 so only needed a mortage of 250,000 but 70% of 400,000 is 280,000, can you still apply for a mortgage of 280,000 and just 120,000 of savings instead of the full 150,000 you have?
Is there any reason why it only applies to purchases of new houses/self builds and not second-hand houses?

Thanks

howiya · 04-06-2022 11:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119159641#Comment_119159641

1) HTB should be phased out but I would expect it to be extended past 2022 in the current climate of high inflation in construction costs etc. I can't see them taking it away from builders.

2) Yes that is correct. The amount of savings you have is irrelevant to the HTB application once the mortgage is at least 70% of the purchase price.

3) it's specifically for new builds because it is supposed to stimulate the construction of new houses. Help to Build/Help the Builder would be more appropriate names for the scheme.

JimmyCorkhill · 15-06-2022 11:29pm

I am a PAYE worker but thelast couple of years I had some non-PAYE income from some discounted share purchases, so I needed to fill out a Form 11.

So I think, I may be classified as self assessed rather than PAYE now.

I went into ROS and clicked on Manage Tax Clearance but not sure what reason to use as to why applying for tax clearance, none seem to relate to for HTB. Any idea which option to pick?

Thanks

selfbuilder22 · 18-06-2022 9:33pm

has anyone had experience or know someone who wasn’t eligible due to mortgage not being 70% of the house valuation? 3.5 x both our salaries won’t reach 70% of what I think the house would be valued at we would be 6/7% short

ggmat799 · 22-06-2022 5:40pm

After how many days of HTB verification, builder gets the funds. Builder has suggested to release completion notice only after the HTB funds are received.

ggmat799 · 23-06-2022 5:29pm

Revenue came back suggesting Loan offer pack should be signed. Solicitor has sent signed copy to Bank. He has no copy with him.

Is this normal for revenue to ask for signed copies? If yes, my solicitor should have kept the copy. He is now going on a vacation.

circe28 · 02-07-2022 12:03pm

Hi Guys,

Really hoping someone here has some insight for us!

Like most people we’ve been saving hard for years to afford a house, we recently found one. The house we are buying is a one off in the country, we don’t know when it was initially Built but it was repossessed by the banks and sold at auction in 2018, the house was never finished, it does not have internal doors, floors, sanitary ware or a kitchen. It is not habitable as it stands.

We are approved for the HTB for 20k, the purchase price of the house is 200k and we would then need to finish off the internal works. We have savings which we were planning to use to finish the house of around 20k. All in to purchase and complete works the cost would be approx. 230k, which we can manage if HTB applies.

We recently contacted revenue and everyone we speak with gives us a different answer, one person told us we could use the “Self build” option yet another told us that the house was too far along?!

Has anyone here had a similar experience?

Any advice would be hugely helpful as we are now under pressure from the vendor to progress.

2017-21 help to buy scheme - megathread. All help to buy discussion here please

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