Find a HomeBuy agent :Cross Stitch – Home and community
If you can’t quite afford to buy your first home, there are government schemes run by HomeBuy agents that can help. Find out how to contact a HomeBuy agent, including the National HomeBuy agent once you’ve bought your home.
HomeBuy agents are housing associations that have been authorised to run schemes for people who have difficulty buying a home.
They run ‘HomeBuy’ schemes like:
- ‘equity loans’ – you get a loan towards the home’s purchase price that has no fees for five years
- ‘shared ownership’ – you buy a share of the home and pay rent on the remaining share
Your local HomeBuy agent will:
- keep information about HomeBuy schemes on its website
- have information about all the properties in the area that you can buy through each HomeBuy scheme
- decide if you qualify for a scheme and handle your application
- pass on your application to other housing associations that may have properties for sale
You can use the links below to find out how the HomeBuy schemes work and if you qualify for them.
If you’d like to buy a home through a HomeBuy scheme, you need to contact the HomeBuy agent in the area where you want to live. Each HomeBuy agent has an application form for each scheme, which you will need to complete.
East of England HomeBuy agents
Moat Housing Group is the HomeBuy agent for Essex. For more information, follow the link below or phone 0845 359 6161.
Lea Valley Homes is the HomeBuy agent for Hertfordshire. For more information, follow the link below or phone 0158 286 9440.
Orbit is the HomeBuy agent for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. For more information, follow the link below or phone 0345 850 2050.
East Midlands Housing is the HomeBuy agent for Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire. For more information, follow the link below or phone 0844 892 0112.
Metropolitan Home Ownership is the HomeBuy agent for east, west and north London. L&Q Group is the HomeBuy agent for south east and south west London.
For more information, go to the First Steps website or phone 0845 230 8099.
Isos Group is the HomeBuy agent for Northumberland and Tyne and Wear. For more information, follow the link below or phone 0191 292 2749.
Time2Buy is the HomeBuy agent for County Durham and Tees Valley. For more information, follow the link below or phone 0845 604 2942.
HomesHub is the HomeBuy agent for Cheshire and Merseyside. For more information, follow the link below or phone 0845 603 4559.
Plumlife is the HomeBuy agent for Greater Manchester and Lancashire. For more information, follow the link below or phone 0161 447 5050.
Riverside Home Ownership is the HomeBuy agent for Cumbria. For more information, follow the link below or phone 0845 155 9029 or 0345 155 9029.
Catalyst Housing Group is the HomeBuy agent for Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Milton Keynes and Surrey. For more information, follow the link below or phone 0845 601 7729.
Moat Housing Group is the HomeBuy agent for Kent and Sussex. For more information, follow the link below or phone 0845 359 6161.
HomesinHants is the HomeBuy agent for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. For more information, follow the link below or phone 0238 062 8004.
South West Homes is the HomeBuy agent for Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. For more information, follow the link below or phone 0300 100 0021.
Orbit is the HomeBuy agent for Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Hereford, Sandwell, Shropshire, Solihull, Staffordshire, Walsall, Warwickshire, Wolverhampton and Worcester. For more information, follow the link below or phone 0345 850 2050.
My4walls is the HomeBuy agent for Humberside, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. For more information, follow the link below or phone 0113 243 6893.
Plumlife is the HomeBuy agent for South Yorkshire. For more information, follow the link below or phone 0161 447 5050.
Once you have bought your home through the HomeBuy scheme, you will deal with the National HomeBuy agent. The National HomeBuy agent is responsible for:
- collecting fees on your loan
- agreeing costs if you want to pay back the loan early
- approving the sale price of your home when you come to sell it
- collecting payment of the loan when you sell your home
Metropolitan Home Ownership is the National HomeBuy agent.
Once you have bought your home through shared ownership, you will deal with the housing association that owns the other share of your home. This may not be the HomeBuy agent you applied to for the scheme.