Help to Buy Valuation in TN39 (Bexhill-on-Sea)

March 2023 marked the official end of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, yet many homeowners in Bexhill-on-Sea and across the wider TN39 postcode still need to repay outstanding equity loans. For that, we provide a Help to Buy valuation, a RICS Red Book valuation that sets out the current market value of the property. It is needed if you are repaying the equity loan in full, making staircase payments to buy additional share ownership, remortgaging with a new lender, or selling and repaying the equity loan from the sale proceeds.

Under the scheme, the equity loan was usually set as a percentage of the property value, up to 20% of the purchase price, or 40% in London. On repayment, the sum due is worked out by applying that original equity loan percentage to the current market value, or to the agreed sale price if that is higher. So the figure in our valuation matters directly. In the South East, the original property price cap was £437,600, and with average TN39 property values at around £406,038, getting that valuation right is central to accurate repayment calculations.

Across TN39, our RICS-registered surveyors know how the local market moves. We inspect the property, check recent sales of comparable homes nearby, and prepare a valuation report that meets Homes England requirements. The report needs at least three comparable properties, like-for-like in property type, size, and age, all within a 2-mile radius. We also know the sales picture in TN39 3 and TN39 4, and how value can shift with factors such as seafront proximity or the presence of period properties.

Property in TN39 is far from uniform. Our valuers deal with everything from Detached homes in quieter residential pockets to flats and period properties nearer the seafront, and they use that local understanding to choose the right comparables. That matters in a postcode where different sub-areas do not all perform in the same way.

• Full RICS Red Book compliant valuation
• Report addressed to Homes England
• At least 3 comparable property valuations
• Independent surveyor - no connection to estate agents
• Internal and external property inspection

When the property was bought through Help to Buy: Equity Loan, Homes England, or the relevant devolved authority, provided a loan covering part of the property value. That loan has to be repaid when the property is sold, when you staircase to full ownership, or when the loan term ends. What matters is the current market value at the point of repayment, not the price originally paid.

Take a simple example. If a property in TN39 was bought for £300,000 with a 20% equity loan of £60,000, and it is now valued at £400,000, the repayment becomes 20% of £400,000 = £80,000. That is a sizeable jump from the original loan amount, which is exactly why an accurate RICS valuation matters. Our TN39 surveyors set out those calculations clearly and explain how the valuation figure has been reached.

In the South East, the Help to Buy scheme applied a property price cap of £437,600, and that shaped the maximum equity loan amounts available at the time. If the property was bought close to that cap, the repayment calculation may be particularly significant. The valuation report therefore needs to state the current market value clearly and back it up with comparable evidence, which is why we put so much emphasis on careful inspection and market research.

• Repay your equity loan in full
• Staircase to increase your ownership share
• Remortgage to a new lender
• Sell your property (loan repaid from proceeds)