If you took advantage of the government’s help-to-buy scheme to put you on the property ladder, you may now be looking to pay off the equity loan that was used towards the cost of buying your property. This could be because you’re selling up, have cash savings or are looking to remortgage. Below we look at some of the factors involved in how to repay an equity loan, including how much this will cost, the process to be followed and if a solicitor will be needed.

How much will it cost to pay off an equity loan?

The total amount of help-to-buy equity loan that you will need to repay is not fixed to the amount originally borrowed, but instead calculated based on the market value of your property at the time that you choose to repay and the equity loan percentage amount.

This means that the repayment amount can be lower or higher than the amount originally borrowed. If you are selling, the repayment figure will be calculated based on either the approved current market value or the agreed sale price, whichever is the higher. The amount you will need to repay also includes interest, fees and any outstanding payments.

What is the process to repay an equity loan?

The process to repay an equity loan will depend, in part, on your method of repayment. As your equity loan will be secured as a second mortgage over the title deeds to your property, you may be looking to increase your borrowing on your first mortgage and use this to pay off some or all of your equity loan. If you want to repay just part of your equity loan through remortgaging, you’ll first need to get permission from the administrator for Homes England to change your mortgage provider and increase your borrowing on your existing mortgage.

Provided permission has been sought from Homes England, where applicable, or where you are using the proceeds of sale or cash funds to repay your equity loan, you will then need to instruct an RICS-approved surveyor to inspect your property and provide a valuation report to confirm its current value. You will be responsible for the surveyor’s costs in this regard.

Once you have the valuation report, this will need to be submitted to Target Services Ltd, together with their loan redemption form and administration fee, in order to obtain a redemption figure. Target is a private company appointed by Homes England to administer the repayment of equity loans under the help-to-buy scheme. The valuation report will be valid for a period of 3 months from the date of issue. If repayment does not take place within this timescale, you will need to arrange and fund the cost of an additional desktop valuation.

Is a solicitor needed to deal with the repayment process?

Given that your equity loan will be secured against your property, a specific legal process will need to be followed to ensure its removal once you have paid this off in full. This means that you will need to instruct a solicitor to carry out the legal conveyancing to repay the loan, including checking with Land Registry that the equity charge has been removed.

The legal fees for your solicitor dealing with the transaction will vary depending on the nature of your financing for the repayment of the help-to-buy equity loan.

Legal disclaimer

The matters contained herein are intended to be for general information purposes only. This blog does not constitute legal advice, nor is it a complete or authoritative statement of the law in England and Wales and should not be treated as such. Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information is correct, no warranty, express or implied, is given as to its’ accuracy, and no liability is accepted for any error or omission. Before acting on any of the information contained herein, expert legal advice should always be sought.