New initiative for first-time buyers

03-Apr-2009

First-time buyers will find it much easier to get onto the property ladder thanks to a new government initiative called HomeBuy.

The new scheme gives first-time buyers an interest free equity loan for up to 30 per cent of the value of the property.

It is funded by both the Homes and Communities Agency and property firm George Wimpey.

Daniel McGowan, regional sales and marketing director at George Wimpey, said the news scheme would help first-time buyers afford their own home.

"It is designed to overcome the hurdles of high mortgage costs and larger deposits, which we know are preventing many people from buying," he added.

Paul Spooner, regional director at the Homes and Communities Agency, said it was a "golden opportunity" for people struggling to get onto the property market.

The scheme has been launched at George Wimpey's The City development in Coventry, a new project made up of two-bed apartments and three-bed homes.

According to a report by the Bank of England, 37,937 mortgages were approved in March, a 19 per cent increase from February's figues.

But the report also showed that mortgage approval figures for February and March this year were half those that were approved in February 2008.

FirstRungNow.com - how to buy a house, from finding your first flat or first house, first time buyer mortgages, shared ownership, buying with friends, gifted deposit, part buy part rent - all a first time buyer could possibly need.

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