What's the news for those of us who struggle to afford a home - or even our rent?
An extra £80 million has been allocated to this scheme.
Home Buy Direct is a scheme which helps first-time buyers purchase a share of a new build property with an equity loan of up to 30% of the property’s purchase price. The scheme is part funded by developers and the rest by the government.
These schemes can make the difference of being able to afford a home of your own or not, so they are definitely worth investigating and we have already written about the support that’s available via in Affordable Housing Schemes.
It’s good that these schemes are available and that more money is being allocated as it will hopefully help sell the huge number of new build properties that are sadly lying empty when there are people out there that would love to live in them. These schemes are just a drop in the ocean, helping tens of thousands of first-time buyers when the market is short of hundreds of thousands of them!
This is because this kind of initiative doesn’t solve the key issue at the moment which is the lack of lending at 90 to 95% levels. Most lenders still require 15 to 25% deposits to loan money and this is not a level of cash that many first-time buyers have. So although additional funds are a good thing, what first-time buyers really need is more realistic lending from banks and building societies.
For those receiving help to pay their rent via Local Housing Allowance (LHA), from April 2010 you will not be able to keep any money left over from rental payments.
This seems a sensible idea. Basically, if you are on LHA, the state is paying towards or all of your rent, and if the amount that you are eligible for is more than you need to rent a property, it seems fair that surpluses go back into the ‘pot’ to help other social renters.
Visit Direct Gov for more information.
Check out the mortgage calculator, loans, credit cards & savings comparison tools
Tell us about where you live, & see if your area makes the top (or bottom) 20
Compare current rates on loans, savings accounts, credit cards & mortgages with this handy tool.jpg){kind=small}
Our presenter could be popping round to your house for a consultation and a cuppa
.jpg)
Your Comments
Post your comment
Please note: In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in to Channel 4:
Sign In Here or Register Here
Comments closed
Comments are closed at the present time
Comments
Thank you for your comment!
Your message will be reviewed and the best ones will be published below.
If you intended to make an official comment to Channel 4 please contact us.
Comments