A Lift mortgage is a shared equity scheme helping people living in Scotland acquire their first home. If you are looking to buy a home you would put up the majority share for the property, which is normally between 60 and 80 per cent, and the Scottish Government will hold the remaining share in the property.

You will own all of the property but the Scottish Government will have their investment secured by the mortgage taken on the property. The property stake will remain the same whether the house price rises or falls so if you were to sell your home the Scottish Government would take its equity stake back at the percentage invested at that sale price at that time.

First-time buyers can use a lift mortgage to buy new build homes or homes already on the open market. To be eligible for a lift mortgage the home has to be bought from a registered social landlord; many areas are now covered by the scheme including the city of Edinburgh, Lothian areas, Stirling, Aberdeen and even the highlands.

The criteria does differ between social landlords due to different houses prices, obviously areas such as part of Edinburgh are going to be significantly higher than say the highlands. To be eligible the one set criteria to get a lift mortgage is you can only buy a property two ‘bed spaces’ more than the number of people in your household. For example a couple would be able to buy a home with a double bed and two single bedrooms or two double bedrooms.

Although house prices have been falling due to the economic downturn, prices are still too high for many people to get onto the property ladder.

This lift scheme will be welcome news for many as the extra help the Scottish Government provide in the form of a lift mortgage will mean many can now buy their ideal home and secure the mortgage on the property.

You will be responsible for the fees associated with taking a lift mortgage, including the necessary document fees for the Scottish Government’s investment in the property. It is worth searching to see if the Lift scheme is available on your area; it can give you the help needed to secure that dream property.