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

Dolbhad · 20-05-2019 10:37am

el Fenomeno wrote: »

Hmm, strange. We just brought proof that we were approved for HTB to our Ulster Bank meeting and he was absolutely fine with it. We got AIP from them too.

We just about had the 5% too so definitely wasn't a case of us having 10% anyway.

Kind of defeats the main purpose of the scheme if some places want to see the full 10%, but it's odd that there seems to be an inconsistent approach.

We had the 10% anyway and our HTB was minimal around €4,500 and we were getting an exemption. Also we were getting a slightly higher rate from Ulster Bank over the exemption. We also went through a mortgage broker. But broker said Ulster Bank and KBC don’t look at the HTB. I’ve long tried to understand why bank make the decisions they do. But does defeat the whole purpose of HTB if banks won’t consider it.

el Fenomeno · 20-05-2019 11:56am

Dolbhad wrote: »

We had the 10% anyway and our HTB was minimal around €4,500 and we were getting an exemption. Also we were getting a slightly higher rate from Ulster Bank over the exemption. We also went through a mortgage broker. But broker said Ulster Bank and KBC don’t look at the HTB. I’ve long tried to understand why bank make the decisions they do. But does defeat the whole purpose of HTB if banks won’t consider it.

Maybe it's a branch thing, because we were approved by both UB and KBC with only 5% and HTB confirmation. KBC was through a broker, UB wasn't.

tomister · 20-05-2019 1:32pm

Interestingly enough I just got the mortgage document checklist form from BOI and under source of funds it has HTB scheme.

I’ll post in the Talk to BOI section and see. As HTB is due to end at the end of Dec if they don’t accept it then I won’t have the full 10% saved by then and won’t be able to get the refund

Lux23 · 20-05-2019 4:31pm

Dolbhad wrote: »

We had the 10% anyway and our HTB was minimal around €4,500 and we were getting an exemption. Also we were getting a slightly higher rate from Ulster Bank over the exemption. We also went through a mortgage broker. But broker said Ulster Bank and KBC don’t look at the HTB. I’ve long tried to understand why bank make the decisions they do. But does defeat the whole purpose of HTB if banks won’t consider it.

We were approved by UB with HTB last week and we were about €8000 off the full 10%. Granted by the time we drawdown, we will probably have the full amount saved anyway.

Dolbhad · 20-05-2019 6:38pm

Lux23 wrote: »

We were approved by UB with HTB last week and we were about €8000 off the full 10%. Granted by the time we drawdown, we will probably have the full amount saved anyway.

Mine was October or November last so it might have changed since then.

You can use the HTB for the balance of contract deposit of 10% so you don’t need the house to be complete and close to request HTB. However in current climate I can’t see the government getting rid of the HTB. For some it’s the only way they can buy a house and with the dire renting situation, it would be madness on the government’s part to remove it unless they replace with something else

tomister · 20-05-2019 8:25pm

Dolbhad wrote: »

Mine was October or November last so it might have changed since then.

You can use the HTB for the balance of contract deposit of 10% so you don’t need the house to be complete and close to request HTB. However in current climate I can’t see the government getting rid of the HTB. For some it’s the only way they can buy a house and with the dire renting situation, it would be madness on the government’s part to remove it unless they replace with something else

Yeah would be aiming to get contracts signed in September/October time and would get the 10% paid before the end of the year. Waiting for BOI to call back but I’ve talked to someone who just completed their sale and BOI took the HTB as part of the deposit.

Time will tell...

myshirt · 21-05-2019 6:50pm

For a new build, has anyone here had an engineer compare the site map provided by the vendor to the actual site. Like to confirm if boundaries match up with map provided by the seller.

awec · 21-05-2019 7:12pm

myshirt wrote: »

For a new build, has anyone here had an engineer compare the site map provided by the vendor to the actual site. Like to confirm if boundaries match up with map provided by the seller.

What map? The site maps you get when you buy are indicative only, just illustrations to give you an idea of what it'll look like.

myshirt · 21-05-2019 7:45pm

awec wrote: »

What map? The site maps you get when you buy are indicative only, just illustrations to give you an idea of what it'll look like.

The scheme map.

Dolbhad · 21-05-2019 8:22pm

myshirt wrote: »

The scheme map.

Yes when engineer is doing the snagging have the scheme map checked. This is what will be registered as the official boundaries with land registry so important to get checked.

colly10 · 24-05-2019 9:23am

Hi, I'm filling out a help to buy claim at the moment. I'm planning on getting a place with my gf shorty.
It asks if I want to apply as an individual or group.

I assume I can apply as an individual, providing I've paid enough tax, I won't need her in the claim even though we're going for the mortgage together?

If I don't have to, i'd prefer not to cause she's been out of work for some parts of the last 4 years and it will be a mess working out what to put down on the form 12 for her i'd say with tax claimed back some years

Creamy Goodness · 24-05-2019 9:25am

colly10 wrote: »

Hi, I'm filling out a help to buy claim at the moment. I'm planning on getting a place with my gf shorty.
It asks if I want to apply as an individual or group.

I assume I can apply as an individual, providing I've paid enough tax, I won't need her in the claim even though we're going for the mortgage together?

If I don't have to, i'd prefer not to cause she's been out of work for some parts of the last 4 years and it will be a mess working out what to put down on the form 12 for her i'd say with tax claimed back some years

if you're going on the mortgage together, you need to apply for the HTB together.

robtr89 · 30-05-2019 3:03pm

Hi All,

Query with regards the Group HTB, group being myself and my GF.

We both applied and both got different amounts where the "Maximum Relief Available to you" is. I got nearly 15k, whilst she got about 8k.
23k total
It then says below that, that were entitled to Maximum relief available to group of 20k...

Does the relief work off the higher amount of the two of us, (myself on 15k) or does it combine the two (23k), therefore allowing us to get the full amount of 20k (or the 5% of prop value)? I have messaged revenue on this, but you wouldnt want to be holding your breath on them to reply.

Thanks

robtr89 · 30-05-2019 3:10pm

The Prop value is 340,000 - so we thought we'd be able to get the 17,000 (340k x 5%), but we seem to be only getting the amount that I was told was my max relief.

awec · 30-05-2019 3:24pm

robtr89 wrote: »

Hi All,

Query with regards the Group HTB, group being myself and my GF.

We both applied and both got different amounts where the "Maximum Relief Available to you" is. I got nearly 15k, whilst she got about 8k.
23k total
It then says below that, that were entitled to Maximum relief available to group of 20k...

Does the relief work off the higher amount of the two of us, (myself on 15k) or does it combine the two (23k), therefore allowing us to get the full amount of 20k (or the 5% of prop value)? I have messaged revenue on this, but you wouldnt want to be holding your breath on them to reply.

Thanks

Combined. You will qualify for 20k if you buy a house worth for at least 400k.

CeCe2017 · 01-06-2019 2:14pm

Hi , wondering if anyone has any indication how long your approval lasts for the help to buy scheme. We got approved in the last few weeks and have our approval ID. I know its due to end Dec 19 but if you have been approved in May 19 and possibly didnt draw down until early 2020, would it still be valid? Thanks in advance.

G_R · 01-06-2019 2:17pm

As far as I know, you would need to re apply as it's based off the 4 most recent tax years, and a new one would have started in Jan 2020.

This is also assuming the scheme is extended to 2020, which is not guaranteed.

Creamy Goodness · 01-06-2019 2:23pm

You have to have the HTB claimed by your developer by the 19 Dec. That means contracts signed and deposits handed over.

CeCe2017 · 01-06-2019 2:42pm

Perfect thanks for the replies guys , here’s hoping they run it again in 2020. You would think they would to keep the building going. Fingers crossed !

Zedarg · 13-06-2019 11:10am

Hi. I just got approwed for help to buy. Do I have to use it until end of this year?

Creamy Goodness · 13-06-2019 11:23am

Zedarg wrote: »

Hi. I just got approwed for help to buy. Do I have to use it until end of this year?

Yes. It needs to be claimed by December 19th. The government may extend it in budget 2020 but who knows if that’ll happen.

Febreeze · 18-06-2019 11:03am

Myself and my partner have put in an application for the Help to Buy scheme. Our application is currently under review and has been for the last 2 weeks now. Does anyone know how long it can take before we hear back? Also, what is the process of it all? We've seen houses we like and we've got a location in mind. Has anyone gone through this process before? What was their experience? Did they have any back up plans in cause other plans have failed?

Both negative and positive feedbacks are welcomed as we have no clue what we are supposed to do. So far we are saving as much as we can

Edit: we are both in late 20s if that helps anything and based in Dublin

Graham · 18-06-2019 11:36am

Mod Note

Threads Merged

Doff · 18-06-2019 1:27pm

Febreeze wrote: »

Myself and my partner have put in an application for the Help to Buy scheme. Our application is currently under review and has been for the last 2 weeks now. Does anyone know how long it can take before we hear back? Also, what is the process of it all? We've seen houses we like and we've got a location in mind. Has anyone gone through this process before? What was their experience? Did they have any back up plans in cause other plans have failed?

Both negative and positive feedbacks are welcomed as we have no clue what we are supposed to do. So far we are saving as much as we can

Edit: we are both in late 20s if that helps anything and based in Dublin

I had the same issue, give them a ring and they will tell you exactly whats wrong and how to rectify it. Once we rectified our issues the application was proved within a day.

Apply for HTB
Save enough for mortgage
Get approval in principal
Find a new home and place 5k deposit on it, from your savings (This still counts towards your mortgage deposit)
Provide the seller with your HTB number

Get full approval before roughly 21 days while they send the paperwork to your solicitor
Work with solicitor to fill in paperwork
Pay the rest of the deposit on the house once you get full approval
Draw down the mortgage and pay through your solicitor

Not a bad process to be honest, our solicitor was amazing and guided us through the whole process.

Febreeze · 18-06-2019 2:30pm

Doff wrote: »

I had the same issue, give them a ring and they will tell you exactly whats wrong and how to rectify it. Once we rectified our issues the application was proved within a day.

Apply for HTB
Save enough for mortgage
Get approval in principal
Find a new home and place 5k deposit on it, from your savings (This still counts towards your mortgage deposit)
Provide the seller with your HTB number

Get full approval before roughly 21 days while they send the paperwork to your solicitor
Work with solicitor to fill in paperwork
Pay the rest of the deposit on the house once you get full approval
Draw down the mortgage and pay through your solicitor

Not a bad process to be honest, our solicitor was amazing and guided us through the whole process.

Thanks so much for replying.
Do you know how long we can wait before using the HTB number? Can we wait until we have just about enough before we use it or do we have to have a set amount first?

Doff · 18-06-2019 5:17pm

Febreeze wrote: »

Thanks so much for replying.
Do you know how long we can wait before using the HTB number? Can we wait until we have just about enough before we use it or do we have to have a set amount first?

HTB will match what you have up to 20k, depending how much you qualify for. So if the house is 340k and you qualify for the HTB, you will get a contribution of 17k (5% of house cost) from HTB on the condition you provide the remaining 17k to make up to required 10%.

Generally new home sellers give 21 days from initial 5k deposit for you to get full approval and submit the rest of the deposit, so if you are confident that within that time frame you can get the rest of the funds and full approval then go for it. The actual HTB amount doesn't get taken until draw down, when you submit it first its more of a "I'm using help to buy to cover half of my deposit"

FrankC21 · 18-06-2019 11:53pm

Hi,

My fiancee and I are approved with max relief of 17K, I am unsure of what will be the next step in order to claim it what are the things/Documents I need.
At the moment we do not have a price in mind, were still going to the bank to get the maximum mortgage they can give us?

rosmoke · 18-06-2019 11:58pm

https://www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/tdm/income-tax-capital-gains-tax-corporation-tax/part-15/15-01-46.pdf

This should be handy.

Graham · 19-06-2019 12:34am

Mod Note

Threads merged.

Offtotheraces · 19-06-2019 4:10pm

Do you recall how long it took for Revenue to give you the approval in the first place?

Mine seems to be taking ages and I'm getting nowhere with them.

Cheers!

Febreeze · 19-06-2019 4:22pm

Offtotheraces wrote: »

Do you recall how long it took for Revenue to give you the approval in the first place?

Mine seems to be taking ages and I'm getting nowhere with them.

Cheers!

I'm still waiting myself. Applied a few weeks ago and made enquires on the revenue website and still heard nothing. I've tried ringing and I can't get to them at all.

CeCe2017 · 19-06-2019 4:39pm

Hiya, it took about a week or a week and a half. Unless it was a quiet time we happened to apply but I’d check in with them if you can.

Paul Tergat · 21-06-2019 5:14pm

BOI are telling me that to apply for sanction that includes HTB as a part funding measure I need to have identified an actual property before they will sanction. Does that sound right? Sounds baffling to me.

WAL1992 · 23-06-2019 4:22pm

Hi All

At the very start at the process where I've cleaned up the bank account and am now starting to save some money for a deposit. I like the look of this scheme but does anybody think it will be around next year? I seen an economist recently stated that the scheme should be kept to encourage development but the government isn't great in taking advice from economists :pac:

Febreeze · 24-06-2019 3:55pm

We've just been approved for the scheme. Now its to properly crack down on savings, we have plenty but it's nice to have a decent amount and to check out some places. Excited doesn't begin to describe it

murfilein · 26-06-2019 11:35am

how is the procedure?

do i apply for the scheme first? do i sign a contract with an agency/developer for a house first?

i mean, unless i get money first, how is it going to "help" me buy a house? i put in 2 offers for 2 houses we liked, one was turned down outright as "its not enough", on the other someone else offered more money.

with the money we have, i dont see us getting a house anytime soon as there will always be someone who can offer more than we can.

charlietheminxx · 26-06-2019 12:36pm

murfilein wrote: »

how is the procedure?

do i apply for the scheme first? do i sign a contract with an agency/developer for a house first?

i mean, unless i get money first, how is it going to "help" me buy a house? i put in 2 offers for 2 houses we liked, one was turned down outright as "its not enough", on the other someone else offered more money.

with the money we have, i dont see us getting a house anytime soon as there will always be someone who can offer more than we can.

As this is only for new build houses, you won't be putting and bid/offers in.

You apply for Help to Buy approval first, find out how much you are eligible for, then you go looking at new houses. When you put a deposit down and sign contracts, you'll submit a Help to Buy claim and the developer will be able to claim the sum.

Htbhelp · 28-06-2019 8:09pm

Quick question - have heard varying reports as to the process.

Am I right in saying when paying deposit on signing contracts, you pay 5% and the other 5% is claimed by the vendor from Revenue via your solicitor? Or is it that you pay the 10% and claim back 5% from Revenue?

Many thanks

Apologies, should specify - I was referring to a new build as part of a new development.

Doff · 29-06-2019 4:05pm

Htbhelp wrote: »

Quick question - have heard varying reports as to the process.

Am I right in saying when paying deposit on signing contracts, you pay 5% and the other 5% is claimed by the vendor from Revenue via your solicitor? Or is it that you pay the 10% and claim back 5% from Revenue?

Many thanks

Apologies, should specify - I was referring to a new build as part of a new development.

You only need 5% and to have paid sufficient tax in the last 4 years to equal the remaining 5%. You get a code from revenue that you provide to the builders when signing so they can claim it.

Daniogroove · 29-06-2019 4:09pm

Htbhelp wrote: »

Quick question - have heard varying reports as to the process.

Am I right in saying when paying deposit on signing contracts, you pay 5% and the other 5% is claimed by the vendor from Revenue via your solicitor? Or is it that you pay the 10% and claim back 5% from Revenue?

Many thanks

Apologies, should specify - I was referring to a new build as part of a new development.

The first one is correct as it's to "help you buy", that's the whole idea. Although apparently some developers are trying to make people do the second way which isn't how it's meant to operate as you need to have a full deposit then.

Htbhelp · 29-06-2019 4:38pm

Thank you both for the replies. We had understood it as you’ve explained but heard recently that the developer asked another buyer to foot the full 10% and claim the HTB back which as you said defeats the purpose of help to buy. Are they entitled to do this? We are approved for help to buy wouldn’t be in a position to foot the other 5% on top of our savings.

Daniogroove · 29-06-2019 4:57pm

Htbhelp wrote: »

Thank you both for the replies. We had understood it as you’ve explained but heard recently that the developer asked another buyer to foot the full 10% and claim the HTB back which as you said defeats the purpose of help to buy. Are they entitled to do this? We are approved for help to buy wouldn’t be in a position to foot the other 5% on top of our savings.

Technically they can get away with it. My advice would be to not mention it until after you've paid your holding deposit. Say it to the solicitor then and let them handle it. I just had it written into the contract as a stipulation. The developers are in that far then they just leave it and if you have to argue it at that stage you're in a better position then.

Htbhelp · 29-06-2019 5:01pm

Daniogroove wrote: »

Technically they can get away with it. My advice would be to not mention it until after you've paid your holding deposit. Say it to the solicitor then and let them handle it. I just had it written into the contract as a stipulation. The developers are in that far then they just leave it and if you have to argue it at that stage you're in a better position then.

Great thanks, will check out the contracts and chat with the solicitor about it.

Daniogroove · 29-06-2019 5:07pm

Htbhelp wrote: »

Great thanks, will check out the contracts and chat with the solicitor about it.

Is the developer listed on the approved contractor list? If they are, once your application is approved they can get their money in a few days. Mine was in the process of getting on it so my sale was done and dusted before he got on the list so my solicitor asked me to send it in then and he had his money as few days after accepted it. Sound of him though, most wouldn't do that.

Htbhelp · 29-06-2019 5:12pm

Daniogroove wrote: »

Is the developer listed on the approved contractor list? If they are, once your application is approved they can get their money in a few days. Mine was in the process of getting on it so my sale was done and dusted before he got on the list so my solicitor asked me to send it in then and he had his money as few days after accepted it. Sound of him though, most wouldn't do that.

They are yeah, have already sent the HTB codes to the solicitor as requested so am hoping this will all be a non-issue. Just started questioning when I’d heard about another buyer in the same development.

colly10 · 01-07-2019 12:59pm

We recently got our approval on HTB.
Just wondering if we we’re to put down a deposit in August and the house wasn’t actually completed till February, at what point do they take the grant?

If you don’t pay till it’s ready I assume we’d loose the grant?

Phileas Frog · 01-07-2019 1:15pm

colly10 wrote: »

We recently got our approval on HTB.
Just wondering if we we’re to put down a deposit in August and the house wasn’t actually completed till February, at what point do they take the grant?

If you don’t pay till it’s ready I assume we’d loose the grant?

When you sign contracts

Mushy · 01-07-2019 2:22pm

Put in our application a while back, all approved and claim code forwarded on to developers solicitor. No claim has been made yet. Does this lie with the solicitor to sort, or is it us? We haven't received contracts back, loan offer letter is signed and returned to bank. Supposed to move in on 28th (Or that week anyway), so don't want this holding it up unnecessarily.

Edit: all sorted, didn't realise it was our side to upload contracts and mortgage info

fungie · 03-07-2019 7:25pm

Mushy wrote: »

Put in our application a while back, all approved and claim code forwarded on to developers solicitor. No claim has been made yet. Does this lie with the solicitor to sort, or is it us? We haven't received contracts back, loan offer letter is signed and returned to bank. Supposed to move in on 28th (Or that week anyway), so don't want this holding it up unnecessarily.

Edit: all sorted, didn't realise it was our side to upload contracts and mortgage info

We just signed our contracts and gave the HTB details to our solicitor and bank.

Do we have to do something? Our solicitor said nothing.

niamhzie · 03-07-2019 7:48pm

fungie wrote: »

We just signed our contracts and gave the HTB details to our solicitor and bank.

Do we have to do something? Our solicitor said nothing.

When the builders solicitors countersign the contract you need to upload it and your mortgage agreement to the HTB portal. Our solrs weren't too familiar with the process and I think it set us back a couple of days. Your solrs will receive a copy so follow up with them to get a pdf of it.

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

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