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First HomeBuy Direct Application approved at Eden Square
SKV
15/07/2009
Ask Life has seen its first HomeBuy Direct Scheme application approved, with couple Steven McKiernan (21) and Lauren Griffiths (20) now in a position to buy their first home at Eden Square in Urmston, making them one of the first couples in the North West to be accepted on the Scheme.
HomeBuy Direct aims to make more new affordable homes available to eligible buyers who are currently priced out of the housing market. The scheme allows a purchaser to buy a new home with an interest free loan from the developer and the Homes and Communities Agency of up to 30% of the property value. This contribution can act as a deposit for the property and therefore purchasers are not burdened with trying to find a large sum of money prior to purchasing, which distinguishes the scheme from a shared equity scheme, whereby purchasers still need to provide a deposit.
Steven, a Finance Manager for SHOKK Ltd, and Lauren, a trainee accountant for HW Chartered Accountants, both currently live at home in Urmston with their parents and started looking in to buying a property of their own at the beginning of the year.
Having assumed they would be able to get a 100% mortgage, the couple quickly realised that this was not the case and not only would they need a sizeable deposit, but that it would take years to save up the money necessary to get themselves on the property ladder.
They researched various options, including shared equity ownership, before looking in to the HomeBuy Direct Scheme, upon which they discovered that Eden Square in Urmston was eligible. A two bed apartment, at £148,950 would require a £37,000 deposit but with the HomeBuy Direct scheme, they were able to use the equity loan provided as a deposit.
Steven explained; “We looked at quite a few developments with shared equity schemes but didn’t really like the quality or location of them. When we discovered that Eden Square was eligible for HomeBuy Direct, we rang Ask Life straight away to investigate the availability on the development.
“We were both brought up in Urmston and have a lot of friends here. When we started looking for somewhere to buy, we didn’t consider Urmston because it was out of our price range. Being approved for the HomeBuy Direct scheme made a huge difference because we could use the 30% equity loan as a deposit and get a 100% mortgage for the remaining amount. It also meant we could use the money we did have saved for furniture and decorating.”
Steven continued; “We’re both very excited to able to get our foot on the property ladder at such a young age, with a home in the area we were brought up in. Without this government backed scheme it would have been near impossible for us!.”
Duncan Bowman, Director at Ask Life, said “It’s great news for both Steven and Lauren, and Ask Life that their HomeBuy Direct application has been approved. This scheme is perfect for first time buyers looking to get that foot on the ladder but struggling to come up with the deposit. The Scheme expires in March 2010 and may not be reintroduced so we are hoping people will look in to it while there’s still time.”
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