188体育

How much you need to repay

We work out the equity loan amount you need to repay based on the market value of your home at the time you choose to repay.

This is set by a Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) valuation.

If you are paying monthly interest or management fees, you should keep making these payments.

You鈥檒l need to settle any outstanding payments in full or set up a payment plan with our Customer Service team, before you can repay.

The amount you repay includes interest, fees and any outstanding payments, or arrears. You must repay all of these in full to complete the repayment process.

Follow these steps to repay your equity loan.

1. Get a surveyor鈥檚 valuation report

Before you contact a surveyor, you must tell us about anything that may affect the value of your home as we may need to agree which RICS surveyor you can use.

This could be things like:

• external cladding
• any breaches of planning permission
• building regulations that have an impact on your property鈥檚 value (for example, a conservatory that you did not get a building control certificate for)

If your property is affected by external cladding

If your block of flats has certain types of external cladding, you may need a specialist valuation on your property.

How the report should be made

You鈥檒l need to:

• send a RICS valuation report for your property, so we can work out how much you need to repay
• pay for the report yourself

The report must be:

• signed and dated by the RICS certified surveyor who did the survey. .
• on headed paper addressed to Homes England
• supplied as a PDF file or a digital document that you cannot edit

We cannot accept valuations that are made for bank or mortgage purposes.

Our criteria for the surveyor

You should give the surveyor making the valuation a copy of these criteria.

They must:

• be both RICS qualified and registered
• be a RICS member or fellow (MRICS or FRICS) - if you have Help to Buy: Equity Loan (2021-2023)
• be independent of any estate agent
• not be related or known to you
• inspect the inside of the property
• provide at least 3 comparable properties and sale prices within the last 12 months - they must be like-for-like properties in type, size, age and within 2 miles of the property that is being inspected
• provide bespoke market commentary and reference how the comparable properties provided justify the determination of market value

The report is valid for 3 months from the date it was produced.

If the report expires

If the valuation report expires before you repay your equity loan, we鈥檒l need a 鈥榙esktop valuation鈥� which will extend the original valuation by 3 months.

This letter must be:

• from the same RICS surveyor who made the valuation
• provided on the company鈥檚 headed paper and as a PDF or another digital format that you cannot edit

If you do not complete the repayment process in the additional 3 months, you鈥檒l need to provide a new valuation report.

If your valuation report is due to expire, we鈥檒l write to you and ask you to get a desktop valuation.

Getting a desktop valuation report

The RICS firm who did the original valuation can supply a desktop valuation report without visiting the property in person.

They must:

• refer to the original valuation report
• confirm the updated report is a desktop valuation
• provide at least 6 comparable properties and sale prices from the last year if the property has increased or decreased in value. If 6 are not available, they must state this clearly
• provide bespoke market commentary and reference how the comparable properties provided justify the determination of market value

The report must be:

• made within 2 weeks of the expiry date of the original valuation report
• completed, signed and dated by the same RICS surveyor
• made on the company鈥檚 headed paper and also in PDF or another digital format that you cannot edit

This valuation is valid for 3 months from the date it is produced.

We need to receive the valuation within 5 working days of the date it was issued.

If we reject the report

You must make sure your surveyor carries out the valuation in the way we鈥檝e asked for it.

We may reject the valuation report if it:

• does not follow the instructions
• is too high or low compared to similar properties

If we reject the report, you鈥檒l need to provide and pay for a new report.

If you do not agree with the new valuation

Under the terms of your equity loan agreement the President of RICS will appoint a RICS surveyor to produce a final valuation.

2. Confirm where your money is coming from

If you鈥檙e planning to use your own money, like inheritance or savings, to repay your equity loan, you need to confirm where this has come from.

For example, a copy of a bank statement showing the money.

You must also have the money available to repay any fees, charges or outstanding missed payments (arrears).

3. Decide what percentage of your equity loan you are repaying

You can repay all or some of your equity loan at any time. You can make part payments of at least 10% of the full repayment amount, based on what your home is worth at the time, to reduce how much you owe.

4. Find a conveyancing solicitor

You must instruct a conveyancer to carry out the various legal processes that are required.

You can on the Law Society鈥檚 website.

5. Complete the repayment application form

Complete and return the equity loan repayment application form with your evidence documents showing where your money is coming from.

Send them by either email or post to:

Email [email protected]

Post: Help to Buy Customer Service team, PO Box 5262, Lancing, BN99 9HE

When emailing our Customer Service team, please include your account number, name and a brief summary of your query 鈥� for example 鈥楻epayment application form鈥� 鈥� in your email subject line.

You must provide your conveyancer鈥檚 contact details and give the conveyancer authority to act on your behalf.

6. Pay the administration fee and any arrears

You鈥檒l need to pay an administration fee of 拢200 when you apply to repay your equity loan.

You鈥檒l also have to clear any arrears or outstanding payments. If you cannot clear your arrears, you may be able to:

• continue to apply if you agree to a payment plan
• clear the arrears at the same time you repay your equity loan

Your conveyancer will need to confirm if this is possible.

How to pay

You can pay by:

• bank transfer
• online at the link we send you
• debit card by calling 0300 123 4123
• cheque

You must tell our Customer Service team if you pay by bank transfer. Email [email protected] or call the number above to confirm.

When emailing our Customer Service team, please include your account number, name and a brief summary of your query 鈥� for example 鈥楢dministration fee鈥� 鈥� in your email subject line.

If we have your mobile number, we鈥檒l send you an SMS text message from 鈥楬elptoBuy鈥� with a unique link to HelptoBuy.paythru.com. The link works for 4 days from when we send it. You can only use the unique link to pay your admin fee.

Our Customer Service team is available Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm and Saturday 9am to 1pm (excluding UK public holidays).

Payment details

Bank name: Lloyds Bank PLC

Account name: EQGATEWAY RE HE HELP TO BUY ADMIN

Sort code: 30-80-12

Account number: 24501860

Reference: Your customer account number or first line of your address and postcode.

We cannot progress your application unless we鈥檝e received this payment.

7. Receive a redemption letter

We鈥檒l send you and your conveyancer a redemption (repayment) letter after you鈥檝e sent us:

• the RICS valuation report
• your completed application form
• the administration fee and any arrears

The letter will confirm:

• that you can repay your equity loan
• the percentage of equity loan you took out
• how much your repayment amount will be, based on the valuation report

The repayment amount will include any outstanding interest, fees and arrears.

When you鈥檝e sent us everything, we鈥檒l review your application and contact you if we need more information.

Legal undertaking agreement

We鈥檒l send your conveyancer a list of items they need to put into a 鈥榣egal undertaking鈥�. This is a legal agreement formalised in paperwork.

If the completion date on the undertaking is delayed by more than a week, we may need to supply a new repayment amount and undertaking.

We will not grant an 鈥楢uthority to Complete鈥� (a form giving you permission to complete your sale and repay your equity loan) until you have repaid everything you owe, or a payment plan is agreed.

Repay your equity loan

We will send the 鈥楢uthority to Complete鈥� within 5 days of receiving the legal undertaking from your conveyancer (or when a payment plan has been agreed).

This means you can repay all or part of your equity loan and complete the repayment process.

If you鈥檙e repaying part of your equity loan, there are some extra steps to take before we can send you an 鈥楢uthority to Complete鈥�. Our Customer Service team will explain this to you.

Completing the process

1. Your conveyancer transfers the funds to repay your equity loan. The total amount will include any interest, charges, administration fees and arrears that you owe.

2. Your conveyancer sends you the relevant completion documents.

3. When we receive the funds, we鈥檒l check that the amount matches the figures on the Authority to Complete and inform your conveyancer.

4. Your conveyancer will certify this and send you a 鈥榗ompletion statement鈥� on headed paper.

5. Once you鈥檝e fully repaid your equity loan and other costs, we鈥檒l apply to the Land Registry to remove the charge on your property.

If you鈥檙e paying monthly interest and management fees, you should keep making these payments until the process is complete.