A New Opportunity to Buy your Own Home - 02/10/06
For release: 2 October 2006
A new opportunity to buy your own home
A greater number of first time buyers can now be assisted with the launch today of an expanded Open Market HomeBuy programme, which has been designed to help 20,000 more households step onto the property ladder. With no deposit required, buying a home under the Expanded Open Market HomeBuy scheme is now approximately 20% more affordable than buying a home unassisted.
Thames Valley Housing Association is the HomeBuy Agent for Surrey and currently owns and manages over 10,000 properties. It acts in the Thames Valley area as a ‘one stop shop’, handling the complete application process and helping key workers and first time buyers find the right house.
Howard Dawson, Head of Home Ownership at Thames Valley Housing Association, reports “Thames Valley Housing Association has helped over 7,000 people buy homes over the past 20 years. With house prices in Surrey continuing to rise we are pleased that this new and innovative Expanded Open Market HomeBuy scheme will allow us to assist so many more. We expect a high level of interest from the public in this area.”
“Without Expanded Open Market HomeBuy, a family on a combined income of £35,000 could typically obtain a mortgage for a house worth only £122,500. Now, that threshold increases to over £160,000 for eligible parties.”
People who will benefit are:
• existing tenants of housing associations and local councils
• people on housing waiting lists for social rented housing
• key public sector workers in the Thames Valley region
• other priority first time home buyers
A number of new developments are also currently available for purchase in Surrey including properties in Camberley, Redhill, Horley, Old Woking, Elstead and Egham with prices starting from £52,500 for a 35% share. For more information or to search for houses visit the Thames Valley Housing Association website (www.tvha.co.uk).
To review eligibility criteria for the programme visit the HomeBuy website (www.homebuy.co.uk).
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For more information on the new scheme or properties available through the Thames Valley Housing Association please contact Howard Dawson or Alex Noonoo: Telephone: 020 8607 0607
For media information and images please contact Serena Webber or Nicola Preston,
Blueice Communications Tel: +44 (0) 20 7937 7537 Email: npreston@blueicecom.com
Notes to Editors:
• Thames Valley Housing Association home ownership programmes are available in west and south-west London, Surrey, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire.
• Four different mortgage lenders, HBOS, Nationwide Building Society, Yorkshire Building Society and Advantage, are participating in the programme and will provide an equity loan of 12.5% plus a conventional loan of 75%. Purchasers will have the choice of working with the various lenders. The remaining 12.5% equity share is provided by the government via a HomeBuy agent such as Thames Valley Housing Association
• No interest is charged on either of the equity loans for the first five years and there will never be interest on the HomeBuy agent’s portion of the equity loan. The amount repaid to the lender and the HomeBuy Agent will be linked to the value of the home when sold, plus a redemption fee where levied
• Shared home ownership with up to four people is also a possibility, as long as the joint household income does not exceed £60,000
Further Information
For more information on the new scheme or properties available through the Thames Valley Housing Association please contact Howard Dawson or Alex Noonoo: Telephone: 020 8607 0607
For media information and images please contact Serena Webber or Nicola Preston,
Blueice Communications Tel: +44 (0) 20 7937 7537 Email: npreston@blueicecom.com
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