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

Shelldrake

Jeffy17 wrote: »

I was under the impression I couldn't apply for the payment from the HTB until such a time the house was built, a surveyor has seen it from the bank etc?

I'm in a similar condition to yourself whereby I'm buying a new build which won't be ready until the end of January but didn't think I could apply for the HTB Grant as we would not be able to provide proof of drawdown of the mortgage and have the evidence of the mortgage

We uploaded signed contracts and the mortgage approval letter from the bank. As part of the mortgage application an evaluation did take place, but we didn't upload this report to ROS.

We thought our claim might get rejected by Revenue as we will need to re-apply for our mortgage again after the current offer expires but this didn't seem to be an issue for them and our application was approved.

Shelldrake

Essien wrote: »

What's the latest on when this will be scrapped. If I were to buy in Jan/Feb 2018 is it likely that the HTB will still be available to me?

Housing Minister, Eoghan Murphy, isn't a fan of the scheme and it will most likely be announced in October it will be gone. When they do end the scheme I assume they have an end date where they are no longer accepting claims, but it would continue to process the applications already in the system. Saying so that's a big assumption...

awec

I'm not so sure it will go.

Was reading an article a while back where the Central Bank felt the scheme wasn't to blame for rising prices, but aside from that there are problems with scrapping it. A sudden rush of people to apply before it closes is just going to drive prices up as more people try and buy now while they get the rebate.

Shelldrake

awec wrote: »

I'm not so sure it will go.

Was reading an article a while back where the Central Bank felt the scheme wasn't to blame for rising prices, but aside from that there are problems with scrapping it. A sudden rush of people to apply before it closes is just going to drive prices up as more people try and buy now while they get the rebate.

I think it will be announced in October they plan to end the scheme but it be when other initiatives which directly benefit the developers are introduced. The HTB has artificially inflated house prices but the damage is done now. Just because the government scrap the HTB, House prices aren't suddenly going to drop 5% over night.

Without going off topic too much - estate agents are also responsible for unjustifiably driving up house prices for both new builds and second hand houses. On of the most untrustworthy professions ever...:mad::mad::mad:

ec18

Shelldrake wrote: »

Without going off topic too much - estate agents are also responsible for unjustifiably driving up house prices for both new builds and second hand houses. On of the most untrustworthy professions ever...:mad::mad::mad:

That's their job....get highest price they can for the seller :P

Shelldrake

ec18 wrote: »

That's their job....get highest price they can for the seller :P

I guess I don't blame individual estate agents - a distinct lack of vision, transparency and regulation encourages less than professional behavior really.

I know its a very simplistic example, but you don't see a car sales man tell you while your standing in the forecourt the price is now gone up 5k because they just received a "higher bid".

Why can't a fair and equitable price be determined and then the first person to offers the asking price buys the house. This game of advertising a house lower than what is worth to just to get a bidding war going is just foolish. As a seller you might make an extra 30 or 40k this time, but unless you have an endless supply of houses, your going to be on the receiving end of their lies and deception when buying your next property.

At the end of the day if Daft had an online buying feature, estate agents would be out of a job as in my experience as a buyer they don't add any value to the purchasing process bar facilitate viewings. Rant over...:)

MayoSalmon

Just to clarify is Help-to-Buy restricted to new build houses only??

Colonel Claptrap

MayoSalmon wrote: »

Just to clarify is Help-to-Buy restricted to new build houses only??

Correct. Second hand houses are not covered.

beazee

MayoSalmon wrote: »

Just to clarify is Help-to-Buy restricted to new build houses only??

"the department says a new-build is a property that has not been occupied before"
https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/help-to-buy-rebate-scheme-q-a-first-time-buyer-reference-guide-1.2827447

LoGiE

House Price: €370,000

10% deposit on signing contracts: €37,000
Paid Booking Deposit: €5,000
Owe Builder: €13,500
Revenue HTB Scheme pays €18,500
Total paid: €37,000

I spoke with my solicitor today. He told me that I would need to pay the entire €37,000 deposit and that revenue would then pay the builder. The builder will then take this off the cost of the house.

So my question is this... Why am I taking a mortgage for €333,000?

I thought that I paid half the deposit and the HTB scheme paid the other half.

I've asked him to clarify this but I'm hoping someone here can also shed some light.

Thanks

JaMarcusHustle

That's how it should operate in theory, but I believe some developers are looking for the full 10% up front and the HTB will be knocked off the total price.

Cant comment on the legality or anything of it, or what would happen if you pushed back, but you wouldn't be the first to find themselves in this position.

ie. House Value of 370,000. You pay 37k, remaining balance is 333k, and HTB pays 18.5k off that, so balance to pay is then 314.5k.

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong on those figures. And again, I'm not saying I agree with that practise! That's not how the HTB is supposed to work and I don't know who enforces it.

Colonel Claptrap

Your solicitor is incorrect.

Your numbers are right.

The whole point of the scheme is to help people with the deposit.

cladyman

Does anyone know if this HTB is available for self build in Northern Ireland?  I live in the North but work and pay tax in the South

Colonel Claptrap

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

That's how it should operate in theory, but I believe some developers are looking for the full 10% up front and the HTB will be knocked off the total price.

Cant comment on the legality or anything of it, or what would happen if you pushed back, but you wouldn't be the first to find themselves in this position.

Our builder tried to pull that.

We got a statement from revenue confirming what they were proposing is not allowed. They quickly backed down.

LoGiE

Colonel Claptrap wrote: »

Our builder tried to pull that.

We got a statement from revenue confirming what they were proposing is not allowed. They quickly backed down.

Thanks for this, I knew this didn't sound right.

Shelldrake

LoGiE wrote: »

House Price: €370,000

10% deposit on signing contracts: €37,000
Paid Booking Deposit: €5,000
Owe Builder: €13,500
Revenue HTB Scheme pays €18,500
Total paid: €37,000

I spoke with my solicitor today. He told me that I would need to pay the entire €37,000 deposit and that revenue would then pay the builder. The builder will then take this off the cost of the house.

So my question is this... Why am I taking a mortgage for €333,000?

I thought that I paid half the deposit and the HTB scheme paid the other half.

I've asked him to clarify this but I'm hoping someone here can also shed some light.

Thanks

Same happened to us - our solicitor said we owed the full 10%. He said it didn't make sense to him for the Government to introduce a scheme which would leave money in our bank accounts and not the developers.

We sent on multiple documents which clearly state it does towards the house deposit and not the house price and have a cheque for our 5%. They didnt take very long to process our claim and get the tax rebate paid to them.

I think solicitors in general have dropped the ball on educating themselves on the HTB scheme. Not sure what the developers solicitor excuse is, especially when they should be processing claims ASAP to get paid

Daniogroove

Shelldrake wrote: »

Same happened to us - our solicitor said we owed the full 10%. He said it didn't make sense to him for the Government to introduce a scheme which would leave money in our bank accounts and not the developers.

We sent on multiple documents which clearly state it does towards the house deposit and not the house price and have a cheque for our 5%. They didnt take very long to process our claim and get the tax rebate paid to them.

I think solicitors in general have dropped the ball on educating themselves on the HTB scheme. Not sure what the developers solicitor excuse is, especially when they should be processing claims ASAP to get paid

Solicitors haven't a notion!!! I spoke to mine yesterday, had to literally explain how it all worked and then she rang the builders solicitor and while they both talked about it on the phone I had to interject while she was talking and essentially set both of them straight... and I'm the one paying for their service!!

awec

To be honest any solicitor who works in property who doesn't understand the help to buy scheme is a joke. It has been around for long enough now, I would not be impressed if the person you are paying for their expertise hasn't bothered to educate themselves on a pretty important scheme.

Colonel Claptrap

In fairness to them, there was so little information provided by revenue at the beginning. There was a 2 paragraph blurb explaining it which created even more questions instead of providing clarity.

I called revenue 4 times in a week and asked 4 staff members the same question and got 4 different answers. Nobody knew what was going on at the beginning. I was the first client my solicitor had using the scheme, and they haven't had another since.

Shelldrake

Colonel Claptrap wrote: »

In fairness to them, there was so little information provided by revenue at the beginning. There was a 2 paragraph blurb explaining it which created even more questions instead of providing clarity.

I called revenue 4 times in a week and asked 4 staff members the same question and got 4 different answers. Nobody knew what was going on at the beginning. I was the first client my solicitor had using the scheme, and they haven't had another since.

At the beginning perhaps you could grant done leeway, but not now. Solicitors aren't cheap and its not your job as the client to tell them how to do their jobs.

Colonel Claptrap

Shelldrake wrote: »

At the beginning perhaps you could grant done leeway, but not now. Solicitors aren't cheap and its not your job as the client to tell them how to do their jobs.

That's a fair point.

Downsey77

Paulzp wrote: »

Since early Feb 2017 (3 months passed) I was trying to Apply for Help-To-Buy in my online Revenue account. Every time I click Apply button I'm getting this (so I can't even apply):

"Please contact Revenue
We cannot complete your request because our records show that your personal details need to be updated. Please telephone your local Revenue office or contact us through myEnquires. Please quote rule 1."

I called 20 times to Revenue Office, visited them once, sent 2 registered post letters.
Every time they responded that it is their internal technical problem and they pushed my problem to their Help Desk (which suppose to push it to their HTB super secret new IT department). Every time they keep promising it will be resolved soon. But I just got contract from developer and need to sign it, so I will not be able to get 5% HTB from Revenue to pay 10% deposit.
Now I'm preparing documents for legal action against Revenue for breaking my legal right to apply for Help-To-Buy.
(Revenue literally ignoring my problem during last 3 months).

P.S. I filled out all Form 12 for 2013-2016 and paid 1 EUR underpayment for 2016 (so it is not the reason why it is not working).

Did you ever get a resolution to this Rule 1 issue, I'm in the same boat now, about 6 calls to revenue so far but no closer to getting it resolved?

The_Conductor

cladyman wrote: »

Does anyone know if this HTB is available for self build in Northern Ireland?  I live in the North but work and pay tax in the South

No- for a variety of reasons- including the issue that the builder/developer in Northern Ireland won't be registered with Revenue in the Republic- for the purpose of building in Northern Ireland (which is technically another jurisdiction- disputed or otherwise)...........

cladyman

The_Conductor wrote: »

cladyman wrote: »

Does anyone know if this HTB is available for self build in Northern Ireland?  I live in the North but work and pay tax in the South

No- for a variety of reasons- including the issue that the builder/developer in Northern Ireland won't be registered with Revenue in the Republic- for the purpose of building in Northern Ireland (which is technically another jurisdiction- disputed or otherwise)...........

Revenue seem to think i will qualify - Its a self builder so contractor is not involved.  It seems i can get solicitor and lender to verify and process the application.  Just wanted to check here if anyone has any knowledge

The_Conductor

cladyman wrote: »

Revenue seem to think i will qualify - Its a self builder so contractor is not involved.  It seems i can get solicitor and lender to verify and process the application.  Just wanted to check here if anyone has any knowledge

There are a few HTB queries up in the Taxation forum- the guys over there might have a better idea for you?

Henrys Grimey Paws

Hi,

We decided to buy a new build house & paid a booking deposit at the start of last week. We also provided solicitors details, HTB application code etc. as well as informing our bank and starting the process for full mortgage approval. Am I correct in saying that we do nothing now regarding HTB until after we've signed contracts?

Also, how long does it usually take to receive contracts from the vendor? We paid a booking deposit a week ago & so far our solicitor hasn't received any correspondence from the vendor?

Colonel Claptrap

Henrys Grimey Paws wrote: »

Hi,

We decided to buy a new build house & paid a booking deposit at the start of last week. We also provided solicitors details, HTB application code etc. as well as informing our bank and starting the process for full mortgage approval. Am I correct in saying that we do nothing now regarding HTB until after we've signed contracts?

Also, how long does it usually take to receive contracts from the vendor? We paid a booking deposit a week ago & so far our solicitor hasn't received any correspondence from the vendor?

Correct, once you get contracts signed you just need to upload a scanned copy.

Contracts can take a week or a few months. It depends on the vendor's solicitor. Keep chasing the estate agent as they should have an official answer if they are delayed.

Congrats and best of luck.

Shelldrake

Henrys Grimey Paws wrote: »

Hi,

We decided to buy a new build house & paid a booking deposit at the start of last week. We also provided solicitors details, HTB application code etc. as well as informing our bank and starting the process for full mortgage approval. Am I correct in saying that we do nothing now regarding HTB until after we've signed contracts?

Also, how long does it usually take to receive contracts from the vendor? We paid a booking deposit a week ago & so far our solicitor hasn't received any correspondence from the vendor?

Congratulations on the new house

A friend of mine uploaded contracts to Revenue which were signed by them and their solicitor only. They did not wait for contracts to be returned from the developer before uploading.

Their claim was processed and approved without Revenue asking for contracts being signed by both sides.

My personal opinion would be to upload contracts signed by you and your solicitor as well as your mortgage approval documentation. If its not good enough for Revenue, I'm sure they will ask you for further documentation.

Might be worth a phone call to Revenue but I suspect you would get a different answer depending who takes your call. I would also suggest asking your solicitor but based on my own experience they are not subject matter experts either.

Best of luck though!

sticksman

Hi all,

Just a quick query about help to buy for self build. As the site that we used to build on is being accepted as the deposit, is the rebate that we may receive used to reduce the balance of the mortgage or can we use it as we see fit for the completion of the house?

I was hoping that we may be able to use it to complete floors and a bathroom, which have to be done before the bank will allow us to draw down the final stage payment. (House is due to be completed in May next year).

The Revenue website has conflicting statements on this. One section of the Revenue page ("How much can you claim?") page states that the refund is paid to the account of the loan provider (suggesting the mortgage account)

An Irish Times article from earlier this year seems to suggest that the refund is paid to an account number provided (suggesting our current account for us to use as we see fit

Confusion reigns and any help would be appreciated

Confused ftb

sticksman wrote: »

Hi all,

Just a quick query about help to buy for self build. As the site that we used to build on is being accepted as the deposit, is the rebate that we may receive used to reduce the balance of the mortgage or can we use it as we see fit for the completion of the house?

I was hoping that we may be able to use it to complete floors and a bathroom, which have to be done before the bank will allow us to draw down the final stage payment. (House is due to be completed in May next year).

The Revenue website has conflicting statements on this. One section of the Revenue page ("How much can you claim?") page states that the refund is paid to the account of the loan provider (suggesting the mortgage account)

An Irish Times article from earlier this year seems to suggest that the refund is paid to an account number provided (suggesting our current account for us to use as we see fit

Confusion reigns and any help would be appreciated

If it's a self build the refund will be paid directly to your solicitor so essentially to you to use as you like.