First time buyer scheme wins praise (From Warrington Guardian)
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First time buyer scheme wins praise
4:40pm Wednesday 19th September 2012 in News
Clr Russ Bowden
A SCHEME to help first time buyers get a foot on the property ladder has helped dozens get their own home.
Warrington Borough Council was among the first to launch its Local Authority mortgage Scheme (LAMS) with Sector Treasury Services and Lloyds TSB.
And now it is looking to extend its investment with a number of other high street banks interested in signing up.
By this summer 72 mortgages worth an average of £130 000 each had been granted to potential home owners in the town and the £2 million the council originally committed to the programme had been used to under-write these mortgages.
Following its success the scheme has been extended thanks to teaming up with the Teachers Building Society to help teachers.
Clr Russ Bowden, executive board member for corporate resources, said: “In assisting first time buyers in our borough to access a mortgage we can help them get on the property ladder whilst contributing directly to the local economy as well.
"We’ve been inundated with interest from the public and other councils asking us how the scheme might work in their area and the benefits it brings.”
Comments(2)
DuncanStott
says...
12:21pm Fri 21 Sep 12
If would-be first time buyers can't afford house prices without help from the council, it basically means that house prices have become far too high.
Using taxpayers' money to keep house prices expensive might win a bit of short term popularity, but it's only going to kick the unaffordability problem down the road.
Karlar says...
5:06pm Wed 19 Sep 12