Can you use Forces Help to Buy twice? The short answer is no. It is a once-per-career benefit, and this is one of the most misunderstood parts of the scheme. Here is what actually happens when you try, and what your options are for your next home, from a broker who helps forces buyers move on.
Can you use Forces Help to Buy more than once?
No. Forces Help to Buy is designed as a once-per-career entitlement. When you apply, JPA checks your record, and if you have taken an advance before, the application is rejected automatically. It is not a case of borrowing again once the first is cleared, the system simply will not allow a second.
But surely if I have paid the first one off?
This is the common assumption, and an understandable one, but paying your first advance off in full does not make you eligible again. Personnel who have cleared the first and then tried a second application have had it declined. The scheme rules treat it as a single, once-per-career benefit, not a revolving facility.
The one exception: welfare or medical circumstances
There is a route in the scheme rules for a further application in serious welfare or medical circumstances. It is not routine, the criteria are specific, and it is decided case by case. If you think your situation might qualify, your unit and JPAC can point you to the process and the exact conditions.
Moving home when you have already used it
Your single advance can be used to move home as well as to buy your first place, but only if you have not used it already. If you have, you will not get a second advance for the move. The good news is that you can still buy your next home with a mortgage in the usual way, often using the equity you have built in your current one.
Buying your next home without a second advance
As former bank managers advising forces families across Lincolnshire, we help you buy your next home whether or not the scheme is available again, using your equity and a mortgage that fits forces life and future postings. See our Armed Forces Help to Buy mortgage advice, or our mortgages for armed forces and military personnel if you are moving on. Scheme rules are set by the MOD and can change, so confirm the current position with JPAC. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
