Housing Minister meets happy HomeBuy home owner
Tuesday, 15th December 2009
Housing Minister John Healey has paid a visit to a new housing development in Loughborough where he was invited into a home purchased under HomeBuy Direct.
The scheme enables people such as first time buyers, key workers and social tenants to buy a share of a home and get their first step on the housing ladder.
Amit Singala moved into the new property at Grange Park, Loughborough just three months ago - the first homeowner to buy a property there under the scheme. He said:
"Buying the house through HomeBuy Direct worked out really well for me. I was able to get assistance that meant I didn't have to use all my savings, but because I was prepared to put some of my money in I actually got a better rate.
"Claire, the Sales Co-ordinator at William Davis Homes helped me through all the paperwork which was then approved within five days.
"I told some of my friends and now two of them are on the HomeBuy scheme too. If I hadn't been able to take advantage of HomeBuy I would still be renting now rather than owning my own property."
Housing Minister John Healey said: "The current recession has made it difficult for people, especially first-time buyers, to get mortgages.
"The Government is doing all it can to help build the homes that are needed by supporting the construction industry, and at a very basic level helping those people who are hard-pressed for cash to purchase a home without financial assistance get their first step on the housing ladder. I am delighted to see how positively this has worked here in Loughborough."
Georgina Newcombe, Private Housing Sales Director at William Davis Homes, explained that 17 of the 40 smaller, two-bedroom homes on the Grange Park development had been earmarked for HomeBuy purchases and so far 11 families have moved in.
"This is a valuable scheme for developers," she said. "It just fits the first-time buyer market."