Disabled with a deposit, but can't buy a house

Calum Grevers is looking for his first house and has a £32,000 mortgage deposit raised through crowdfunding. But after a three-year search in Edinburgh, he hasn't found a property that he can afford.

Because Calum has muscular dystrophy, his home has to be accessible. Ideally it should be ground floor, have two bedrooms and an en suite bathroom that can be converted into a wet room.

After growing frustrated with the lack of availability of social housing, he is attempting to use a Scottish government scheme aimed at helping first time buyers.

But he says restrictions, including a price limit set by the scheme, have frozen him out of the city's notoriously competitive housing market.

"It feels like you're facing barrier after barrier," he said. "Especially when you've got the funding there and it's just some specific rules that is making it far too difficult to find something.

"The fact that so few houses are accessible reflects the fact that, I think, disabled people's independence isn't really valued as something that is important.

"It kind of feels like you're a less valued member of society."

The Scottish government said they were sorry that Calum was finding it difficult to buy his own home.

"We want disabled people in Scotland to have choice, dignity and freedom to access suitable homes, but we know there is more to do in this area," a spokesman said.

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Originally Calum signed up for social housing but was told that on average, disabled people could spend about three years on the waiting list due to the limited number of accessible properties.

He also became frustrated at delays in getting an assessment for an accessible home via a social landlord.

Instead he chose to raise money through a crowdfunding campaign and in just over a year, people had donated £32,800.

'Scheme struck me out'

It enabled him to apply for the Scottish government's Low-cost Initiative for First-Time buyers (Lift) scheme - a shared equity scheme that was launched in 2007.

It allows people to access financial support to buy a property, while the government owns a 10% to 40% share in the home.

The problem for Calum is the scheme has two restrictions. In Edinburgh the limit for a two-bedroom property is £165,000, which he says is too low, and buyers cannot pay more than the home's valuation.

According to the Edinburgh Solicitors Property Centre, buyers paid on average 5% over valuation in the first three months of this year.

Calum said the Lift scheme's price cap in Edinburgh is too low

Calum said: "In Edinburgh it is unrealistic to buy a property at valuation price because it is so competitive here.

"On top of that, with the lack of accessible housing, you might have to pay more to get a house that fits your needs.

"That restriction means it's struck me out of houses that would be suitable, even though there are so few of them."

'I can't look elsewhere'

Despite the financial challenges, Edinburgh is Calum's home. He would like to live near to his parents and to his team of assistants who provide his round-the-clock care.

He is also familiar with the city's public transport and its provisions for wheelchair users - all things he is reluctant to leave behind.

Calum wants to stay in Edinburgh where his support network is based

"In another situation, I'd move to a more affordable area," said Calum.

"Because I have a support network I've built up, with personal assistants and some of the funding I rely on from the council, I can't just move to a less competitive area with more affordable houses."

Calum has contacted the Scottish government in the hope they will grant him an exemption to the scheme's rules.

In the meantime he will keep placing offers in the hope that someone will take valuation price - but Calum, who is 28, fears he could be 30 by the time he can move out of his parents' home.

"I think it's quite important, because I've not really experience that in my life," he said. "I think it would be important for my self confidence and my relationship with my parents as well.

"Your relationship can become quite strained if you're with them too long."

'Financial exclusion'

Disabilities campaigner Susie Fitton, of Inclusion Scotland, said the Lift scheme could be "flexible" at providing additional funding for disabled people who incur extra costs when buying a home.

But she continued: "We've got sky high property prices and rents in Edinburgh and we've got long waits for social housing.

"There is a very common experience of financial exclusion and poverty amongst disabled people in Scotland and in Edinburgh in particular.

"And all of this in combination with a chronic shortage of affordable, accessible and adapted housing can make finding the right house in Edinburgh and in other parts of Scotland very difficult or impossible."

The Scottish government said disabled applicants were given priority access to the Lift programme.

"This programme also ensures disabled people are offered flexibility in terms of the properties they can buy through the scheme so they can search for a home that meets their specific needs," a spokesman said.

"We are increasing the supply of accessible homes as part of our overall commitment to deliver 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, in addition to the 108,106 delivered since 2007."

He added that, where possible, all new affordably homes were built to "Housing for Varying Needs" standards, meaning they have a degree to flexibility to meet people's needs.

"We are also introducing a Scottish Accessible Homes Standard which all new homes will be expected to achieve from 2025/26," he said.