National criteria has been put in place to ensure that First Homes go to those who would otherwise struggle to buy a home.
To buy a First Homes scheme property, you must:
- be 18 or older
- be a first-time buyer (if a property is being bought by more than one individual, you must all be first-time buyers)
- have a mortgage or home purchase plan to fund a minimum of 50% of the discounted purchase price
- have a household gross income of no more than £80,000.
We reserve the right to set additional local criteria. Any local criteria falls away if the First Home has been on the market for more than 3 months.
Price cap
The first sale of a First Homes property will be subject to a price cap to ensure that they are available to people who need them.
The cap, after the discount has been applied, is £250,000 in Medway.
This cap does not apply to resale.
If your circumstances change
You will not have to sell your First Homes property if your income increases above the household income cap.
If you have bought the property based on meeting key worker criteria set by the local council, or based on the Armed Forces criteria, you will not have to sell your home if you no longer meet that criteria (by, for example, changing your job) after completion of your purchase.
In addition, if you remortgage the home during the period of your ownership, this can be for less than 50% of the purchase price.
Your First Home should be your only or main residence, and aside from some specific exceptions you will not be able to let the First Home for more than 2 years. If you do not comply with these requirements, you may need to sell your home.
If you fail to keep up your mortgage payments this may put your home at risk. Owning a First Home does not prevent a mortgage lender following its own policies and procedures.
Leaving your First Homes property to someone in a will
Subject to any outstanding mortgage or home purchase plan payments, you own the First Home and you can leave your property to whoever you wish.
They must abide by the conditions of owning a First Home, meaning it would need to be their only or main residence and they would not be able to let out the home for more than 2 years in total without permission from us. If they do not abide by these conditions, they will need to sell the First Home.