Financial News

• Brown dismisses housing crisis fears (09 04 2008 10:15)
• Mortgage hope offered by bank (09 04 2008 10:15)
• Consumer morale 'falls again' (09 04 2008 10:15)
• Bristol & West withdraws deals (09 04 2008 10:15)
• Retirees feel 'unhappy due to no longer working' (09 04 2008 10:15)
• Severn Trent to be fined £36m (08 04 2008 04:15)
• Brown to announce first time buyers help (08 04 2008 04:15)
• UK bank details 'for sale by thieves' (08 04 2008 04:15)
• Last 100% mortgage to disappear (08 04 2008 04:15)
• High earners 'shut out of market' (08 04 2008 04:15)

Subscribe!

Government reveals revamped home loans scheme

The government has unveiled its new loans scheme to help people on low incomes get on the property ladder, the Guardian reports.

Open Market HomeBuy has been relaunched - now offering a combination of a mortgage and top-up loans at advantageous interest rates to fund the purchase.

The project was originally launched in October 2006, but proved a comparative failure - and ended up helping just 2,000 homebuyers.

However, the revamped scheme - which has support from many local housing associations - offers the regular mortgage for as little as 50 per cent of the property's value.

Top-up loans are then given to the borrower, with interest rates starting at under two per cent.

This makes the overall home loan repayments much more affordable - bringing a property market previously marked by runaway house prices within range of a far greater variety of incomes.

The project comes into effect on April 1st.

Send this article to: