With a huge housing crisis in our midst and a national shortage of homes, it has become increasingly difficult for first-time buyers to get on the property ladder without being struck down with damaging deposits and monumental mortgages. Choosing a place to settle in is greatly important to many of us and a decision we shouldn’t take lightly. We can all do with a little help sometimes so here are a few ways that will give you a hand when it comes to buying your first home.
Help to Buy
Help to buy is a great scheme that means you only have to pay a 5% deposit on a house. With just a few savings you can move into somewhere not just affordable, but potentially your preferred area and type of property. The government will also give you a 20% equity loan of the value of the house meaning your mortgage will amount to 75% rather than 90% most buyers have to pay. The loan has zero interest for the first six years too so there’s no need to worry if you’re starting a new job that you’re not too sure about yet or you owe your mum the money that time you’d spent all your euros on your Ibiza holiday. There’s plenty of time for you to get your finances together to begin paying off the loan.
Shared-Ownership
If you’re not looking for a big mortgage but your keen to find a place newly built and in a nice area to start a family then shared ownership is your man. So what is shared ownership? This proposal allows you to buy part of your home and rent the rest from a housing association, so you will receive a reduced deposit and far cheaper rent. Maybe you’re a recent graduate and you’re not quite cut out for living with five people who only have space in the cupboards for super noodles and vodka and don’t realise that never washing a tea towel is a real health hazard, then this scheme is your perfect way out.
Not only will you be able to increase the amount of the house you own over time but you can do this when you feel you can afford it so there is no pressure involved. For 50% of a £200,000 the deposit will only be £10,000 making houses in more sort out areas far more accessible to first time buyers. The rest of the house will be owned by a housing association which are non-profit and have your interests in mind and so you will pay far less rent than through a private landlord. There are even opportunities for shared ownership in London if you want to be a part of the country’s thriving capital but you haven’t found a piece of invaluable Roman pottery buried in your back garden yet.
Homes for Londoners
If you live or work in and around London, then you know just how incomprehensibly unaffordable house prices are. With deposits through the roof and availability little to none it was once completely out of reach for first time buyers. But this is all set to change. With Sadiq Khan’s Homes for Londoners scheme there are many ways you can get your hands on a house without being the wolf of wall street.
Programmes like First Dibs means Londoners get priority when offers are made on houses in the area meaning less are bought by wealthier people as second homes and consequently leave them empty for much of the year. In addition to this, Help to Buy in London offer a 40% equity loan on the house making the mortgage just 55% of the entire value resulting in far more areas becoming accessible to lower income families.
This programme is rapidly making more and more homes throughout London genuinely affordable with London Living Rent ensuring people can afford to save for deposits to own their home while paying a fair and reduced rent each month.
While there may be many reasons you’re looking to buy your first home you may not have realised there are many ways of getting what you want, where you want.
