Help to Buy mortgage brokers in Leicester
3 independent, FCA-authorised advisers covering Leicester and the wider East Midlands area who handle Help to Buy mortgage cases. Contact them directly — we never sell your details.
Omar Daud - Mortgage & Protection Advisor - Leicester
Leicester
Shire & County Mortgages
Leicester
The Mortgages Centre
Leicester
Help to Buy mortgages in Leicester: what to know
The Help to Buy equity loan scheme closed to new applications in England in 2023, but a large number of households in Leicester still hold one and need advice on remortgaging, staircasing or repaying it. Shared ownership and the mortgage guarantee scheme continue to serve a similar purpose for buyers with smaller deposits. Advice here is mostly about managing an existing equity loan rather than obtaining a new one.
- Help to Buy equity loans were interest-free for the first five years. After that, interest begins and rises annually, which catches out households who have not planned for it.
- You repay a percentage of the property's value, not the original cash amount, so a rise in value increases what you owe.
- Not every lender offers remortgage products that sit alongside a Help to Buy equity loan, which narrows your options at the point you most want to switch.
- Repaying the loan requires a RICS valuation, and there is a fee, so plan the timing rather than being forced into it.
What matters locally in Leicester
Clarendon Park and Stoneygate are the established higher-value districts, with period terraces and villas and a strong professional buyer base. Belgrave, Highfields and Evington are dense terraced areas with a substantial owner-occupier and landlord mix. Aylestone, Knighton and Oadby sit at the more suburban and family end. The area near the two universities supports a student rental market. Much of the inner-city stock is pre-1919 terraced housing, so damp, roof condition and past extensions without building regulations approval are recurring valuation themes.
- Extensions and loft conversions carried out without building regulations sign-off, which conveyancers and lenders will query.
- Self-employed and limited-company directors, where the difference between a lender using salary plus dividends and one using retained profit can transform the maximum loan.
England
Buying here follows the England and Wales process: you pay Stamp Duty Land Tax on the purchase, with a surcharge on second homes and buy-to-let, and neither side is committed until contracts are exchanged. Most flats are leasehold, so the length of the lease, the ground rent and service charge, and any outstanding cladding or fire-safety paperwork all affect which lenders will accept the property as security. A broker will usually ask about the tenure before anything else when you are buying a flat.
Do unapproved extensions cause mortgage problems in Leicester?
They can slow a purchase considerably. Where a rear extension, loft conversion or through-lounge was done without building regulations approval, the conveyancer will raise it and the lender may want indemnity insurance or, occasionally, regularisation before completing. It is common in older terraced stock and usually solvable, but it adds time to the transaction.
Questions worth asking a help to buy broker
- Can I still apply for Help to Buy in Leicester?
- The Help to Buy equity loan scheme closed to new applications in England in 2023. Shared ownership and lender products aimed at 5% deposits are the closest equivalents now available.
- How do I remortgage with a Help to Buy equity loan in place?
- You can remortgage while keeping the equity loan, but the pool of lenders is smaller than for a standard remortgage. You will need consent from the equity loan administrator, which takes time and should be started early.
- When do I start paying interest on the equity loan?
- Interest starts in year six at 1.75% of the outstanding loan, rising each year thereafter. It is charged on the loan, and paying it does not reduce the amount you owe.
- Can I repay part of the equity loan?
- Yes — this is called staircasing, and you can usually repay in tranches of 10% or more. You will need a RICS valuation, because you repay a share of the current value rather than the original sum.