Current Equity Loan holders

IMPROVING YOUR HOME

We know that you’ll want to make your new home your own. It’s important to ask us before making any home improvements, as your Equity Loan was provided using government funds and we need to protect this investment.

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SELLERS GUIDE

So, you’ve decided to sell your home and move onto the next chapter in your life. But how do you go about selling your property, and what costs are involved? This handy guide will talk you through the steps.

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CHANGING YOUR MORTGAGE

If you'd like to switch mortgage lenders, or borrow more, the bank or building society will ask for Abri's approval.

Changing mortgage lender

When you take out a mortgage, you'll normally get an introductory deal for a fixed period. Once this time has expired, it’s worth shopping around to make sure you’re getting the best deal. If you need some help with this, check out our panel of Mortgage Advisers.

Re-mortgaging and further borrowing

It couldn’t be easier to re-mortgage or further borrow, but we’ll usually need to be involved. We've set out all the details in this guide.

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RENTING OUT YOUR HOME

The Help to Buy: Equity Loan was designed to help first-time buyers buy a home. To make sure it’s not used for commercial gain, you can’t rent out (or ‘sublet’) your home.

You can take in paying guests or lodgers whilst you’re living in the property. But in exceptional circumstances, we may consider an application to let your home. For example:

• job relocation (for a fixed period of less than 12 months)
• being a victim of harassment or a serious crime
• illness.

To find out more about whether you’re able to rent out your home, contact us at postsales@abri.co.uk or call 0800 145 6663.

UPDATING YOUR DETAILS

Remember to let us know if your name or contact details change.

To update your phone number or email address, you will need to call the Customer Contact Centre on 0300 123 1 567.

If you’ve changed your name, you can either pop into one of our offices or scan in a copy of your deed poll, marriage certificate, or decree absolute to postsales@abri.co.uk.

ADDING OR REMOVING AN OWNER

If you want to make any changes to who owns your home, Abri will need to agree to this. You can get an application form by calling 0800 145 6663 or emailing postsales@abri.co.uk. Take a look at our handy guide for full details.

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Download application form

VALUATIONS

You may need a valuation report if you redeem your loan, or want to borrow more money on your mortgage.

If you’ve been asked to provide a valuation report, this needs to be carried out by a Surveyor who’s registered with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), rather than an estate agent’s valuation. They’ll visit your home and look at how much similar properties have sold for to work out the market value of your home.

Why do I need a valuation?

When you bought your home, the loan was provided by government funds. To protect this public investment, we need a valuation from a professional Surveyor.

As your loan was granted as a percentage of your home’s value, this helps both you and us make sure the value is right when we’re working out how much your loan is worth.

You can use any RICS Surveyor, but they can’t be connected to the estate agent looking after the sale (if applicable). They also can’t be one of your family members or friends. To find a surveyor local to you, visit the RICS website.

RICS website

What does my valuation need to show?

Please make sure that the report includes:

• the open market valuation figure
• at least three comparable properties and sale prices, that are like-for-like in terms of type, size, age and within a two-mile radius of the property being valued, as per RICS guidance.

The valuation report must be provided on headed paper and signed by the RICS Surveyor, including their name and RICS number. Please send this to us as a PDF, or another non-editable document format.

How long is my valuation valid for?

Your valuation will be valid for three months. If you don’t manage to complete your transaction within this time, we’ll need a new valuation – but this is normally cheaper than your first valuation.

Most firms will offer a ‘desktop valuation’. This is where they look at how the market has moved since your valuation without visiting your home again. These are normally cheaper than getting a new valuation and can extend the report to be valid for another three months.

PAYING OFF YOUR EQUITY LOAN

Your loan deed will let you know when you need to pay your loan back. If you sell your home, you’ll need to repay the loan, but you don’t have to wait until then. Most loans can only be paid back in one go, but the MyChoice Homebuy allows you to pay back as little as 10% of your original loan.

For more detail, call us on 0800 145 6663 or email postsales@abri.co.uk.

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POST SALES FEES

We’ve broken down these extra costs for you below, but it’s always best to speak to us about any changes you might be making. You can get in touch with our Post Sales team at postsales@abri.co.uk.

Home improvement permissions

If you're looking to make some improvements to your home, just let us know. There's a small charge for this:

Changes to your mortgage

We know that sometimes there are changes in your life which may impact your home or mortgage. Always let us know as soon as you can if this happens, as we’ll be able to support you. We have handy guides on all of these processes, so head over to our Help & Advice page for more information.

Help & Advice

Replacement or duplicate documents

We all lose things from time to time. If you need a replacement of your Equity Loan deed, we can help. There’s just a £30 fee for this.

Making multiple payments

Good news - if you’re completing a few transactions with us at the same time – e.g. staircasing and transfer of equity, we’ll halve the cost of the lowest transaction.

Rent to Buy Administration Fee

If you're looking to buy your home under the Rent to Buy scheme, this is the Administration fee you'll need to pay to us. The Fee is £1,000, and consist of a £300 paid upfront to start the process, and the remaining £700 will be collected at completion.