Swindon's leading housebuilder has secured national funding to help first time buyers who want to take their first step on the housing ladder.
Barratt Homes has announced that hundreds of households that have previously been priced out of home ownership will be able to take advantage of the Government money to buy a property of their own.
The funds are part of a new scheme called FirstBuy which the Chancellor announced in the Budget in March. It is designed to give first time buyers a route to home ownership at the lowest possible cost and with the lowest possible deposit.
“First time buyers in Swindon now have the chance to move into a new home with a low deposit,” said Barratt sales director Andrea Pilgrim.
“Everyone should be clear that this is not social housing – this is a privately owned first home of your own.
“A lot of people in Swindon will be eligible to take advantage of FirstBuy – any household with a combined income of up to £60,000 qualifies – so I would urge anyone interested to contact us as soon as possible. We have limited availability in this area but we know that demand will be high because thousands of people have already pre-registered their interest on our website.”
Under FirstBuy, buyers will be offered a loan of up to 20 per cent of the price of the property, jointly funded by Barratt and the Government’s Homes and Communities Agency.
The buyers then have to find the remaining 80 per cent of the price themselves. Up to 75 per cent of this could be a mortgage, leaving a deposit of just five per cent.
In practice, that means that anyone buying a two-bedroom house from Barratt under the scheme would potentially be able to get on the housing ladder for less than they may imagine.
“From the point of view of a first time buyer in Swindon, FirstBuy represents an outstanding opportunity to take their first step on the housing ladder,” added Andrea.
Homes currently available from Barratt under the FirstBuy scheme include D2 and Nightingale Rise in Swindon and Wichelstowe.
