Help to Buy (England)

Posted

In
a further development in the Help to Buy debate David Cameron has announced
that, as the Conservative party conference gathers in Manchester, the
state-backed lenders, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group, have
signed up to the Help to Buy (England) scheme and that the launch date has been
brought forward from January.
The
Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme follows
the smaller Help to Buy equity loan scheme which began in April.
Help-to-Buy
will initially be available under the NatWest, RBS and Halifax brands but a
Tory spokesman said that other banks are expected to take part over time.
The
scheme will help people buy any home worth up to £600,000 with just a 5pc deposit.  The Government will guarantee the next 15pc
of the loan for a fee, reducing the banks’ potential losses so they can offer
cheaper mortgages to higher-risk customers who are currently locked out of the
market.
The
deal will be available for £12bn of guarantees on up to £130bn of mortgages and
remain open for three years.

The
Help to Buy scheme is proving more controversial in England with concerns being
expressed that the scheme risks inflating a housing bubble particularly in
London and the South East and exacerbates affordability issues.