To think the first time buyer deals should apply to all properties not just new builds?

[BumpowderSneezeonAndSnot]

I live in an expensive area of the UK and would love to buy a property. I'm a first time buyer so have a few schemes I could sign up to for help but they're all for new builds. Now round here a new build the size I need is £260k+ meaning I would have to sign up for a shared ownership scheme. An older property? Well I've found 4 for £150k meaning I can buy 100% of the property.

AIBU to think the government is being short sighted with this scheme?

I'm so with you OP, plus the help to buy schemes really aren't a good deal in that if the value of the property increases, so will the amount you owe the government.

I get what you’re saying, but presumably the schemes exist to encourage new builds and an overall increase in housing stock?

(Disclaimer: not in U.K. so am guessing.)

I would imagine it's an incentive to buy a new house. If a company builds new houses they have to build a certain amount of shared ownership and affordable housing. Probably something to do with that !

The schemes are designed that way to prop up house builders, who are major Tory donors. The official justification is that it drives demand for new homes, which increases overall housing stock, but I think the real reason is an open secret tbh.

Not all first time buyer schemes are for new builds - we bought our 1970s build flat with a help to buy scheme - basically we just needed a 5% deposit as under this scheme the government gaurentees the mortgagee the rest of the deposit we would have needed should we default on the loan. It is worth having a chat with a mortgage adviser to see what schemes are available.

Developers are required to provide a certain amount of 'affordable housing' when building large developments so that's where the houses/subsidisation comes from. So clearly that wouldn't work with individual properties—where would the money come from?

There used to be a scheme called Open Market Homebuy where first time buyers could get help to buy any property on the market, but I believe that has been discontinued.

The 5% deposit scheme did exist for any property up until xmas 2016.

You can still benefit from the ISA scheme.

This is entirely because of who is funding the build of HA. Or at least who pretends they're funding it but with all the subsidies etc they still make profits of course.