First Floor One and Two Bedroom Apartments

First Homes is a new scheme designed to help first-time buyers onto the property ladder, by offering homes at a discount of 30% compared to the market price. The discounts will apply to the homes forever, meaning that generations of new buyers and the local community will continue to benefit every time the property is sold.

First time buyer, earning less than £80,000 per year. Mortgage to cover at least 50% of purchase price.

Eligibility Criteria:
Purchasers of First Homes must be first-time buyers and must have a household income not exceeding £80,000 (or lower if set by the local authority)
If there is more than one purchaser, all purchasers must be first-time buyers
A First Home should be the buyers only home and a purchaser will need to use a mortgage or home purchase plan for at least 50% of the purchase price of the home

How To Apply:
If there is a First Home apartment that you would like to buy, Oakmere and a mortgage adviser, will initially check your eligibility
If you have not already done so, it is strongly recommended that you seek financial advice about mortgage availability from a mortgage advisor. You should also have a solicitor/conveyancer to advise you on the purchase.
If it looks like you could be eligible, Oakmere will assist you to complete a First Homes application to the local authority.
Oakmere and the mortgage adviser will need information and evidence from you to:
a. check household income
b. determine whether you are likely to be able to obtain a mortgage, through for example a ‘decision in principle’ from a mortgage bank or building society.

Once the application information has been completed you will then:
a. sign the legal declarations on the application form, including confirmation that you and anyone you are purchasing with are first time buyers
b. reserve your apartment with Oakmere and pay a reservation fee to Oakmere (maximum of £500 permissible).

This is refundable if you are found not to be eligible.

It is very important that all buyers make this reservation commitment with their application. Applications cannot be considered by local authorities if you have not reserved your First Home, or if any required information is missing.

The completed application is then sent by Oakmere to the local authority for their consideration.

The local authority will check your application. If you meet all the requirements, it will issue a First Homes Authority to Proceed and Eligibility Certificate to you, Oakmere, your mortgage adviser and conveyancer. Your conveyancer will also receive instructions from the local authority. You can usually expect a local authority to issue their Authority to Proceed in approximately 5 working days of application receipt. It is very important that your application is completed in full before submitted to the Local Authority because they will not be able to consider partial applications, and this will cause delay.

You can now apply for your mortgage. It is very important that you do not submit your full mortgage application until you have the Authority to Proceed. Securing a ‘decision in principle’ can be done before this but submitting a full mortgage application will incur cost, and you should not do this until you know you are approved to buy.

Customer Guidance:

Lancaster City Council: First Homes: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/8fcdd11330c644e9a5012ba5fe826603

Own Your Home: First Homes Scheme - https://www.ownyourhome.gov.uk/scheme/first-homes/

Other Information:

Site management charge including building management £1,287.30 pa apply (this includes building insurance).
Tenure: Leasehold
Council Tax Band: TBC