Minimal 5% deposits for up to 100,000 new home buyers
Monday 7th December 2011 - Full story
Help for families needing housing also includes a 'reinvigorated' right-to-buy, the Chancellor George Osborne said in his Autumn Statement.
Discounts of up to 50 per cent will be available for council house sales, with the money used to build a new affordable property for each one sold, he said.
The number of sales to first-time buyers fell to its lowest level in almost three years in October last month according to the National Association of Estate Agents.
But the State's part-guarantee of buyers of new homes - called the Mortgage Indemnity Scheme - will mean people can get on the property ladder with only a relatively small deposit. Typically people are asked to pay a 20 per cent deposit.
The scheme effectively reduces the risk to the bank or building society lending the money - if the house happened to be sold later on for less than the outstanding amount, the lender would be able to recoup its cost
Date 29th November 2011
By Harry Glass Source Mail On line
