How to apply

If you want to apply for funding through the Help to Buy scheme, you first need to contact a participating home builder.

After you have done this, you will need to speak to either a lender directly or to an independent financial adviser, who will discuss your current financial position and your ability to obtain a mortgage.

There are currently 16 lenders offering mortgages for the Help to Buy scheme:

• Bank of Scotland
• Barclays
• The Cumberland Building Society
• Glasgow Credit Union
• Halifax
• Kensington Mortgages
• Leeds Building Society
• Lloyds Bank
• The Mortgage Lender
• Nationwide
• Precise Mortgages
• Scotwest Credit Union
• Skipton Building Society
• TSB
• Vida Homeloans
• Virgin Money

You will then need to reserve the home and get a full reservation agreement by the builder. You may need to pay a reservation fee to do this.

After this, you should apply for funding through the adminstering agent for your area.

After you complete the form and send it to an agent, they'll assess your application and let you know if you're eligible for assistance through the scheme.

If you're eligible

If the agent assesses that your application is eligible, they'll send you an 'Authority to Proceed' (ATP), which confirms your eligibility and lets you go ahead with the purchase.

Your solicitor will then check to make sure the mortgage offer, property price and the funds you have are all valid under the terms of the Authority to Proceed.

Once everything's been checked and the purchase is ready to complete, your solicitor will gather:

• the funds from your mortgage lender
• the Scottish Government's contribution
• the deposit you're paying

They will then use these funds to pay the builder the purchase price of the home and complete the deal. Once the deal is complete, you can move in.