Haverhill News

Getting a foot on the property ladder

First-time buyers who are struggling to afford their own homes can get a helping hand on to the property ladder through a scheme called Open Market Homebuy. St Edmundsbury Borough Council and Keyhomes East work in partnership to run the scheme.

The government- funded Open Market Homebuy scheme works by providing 25 percent of the price of a suitable home in the form of an ‘Equity Loan’ on which there is no interest payment for first five years, and then a very low rate. The remaining 75 percent of the price is raised by a mortgage in the usual way. Crucially, no deposit is required for the mortgage but clients do need to be able to pay their legal and survey fees.

The main groups of people who will be helped by the scheme are:

• existing housing association tenants;
• people who are on the West Suffolk Housing Register;
• other first-time buyers; and
• key public sector workers.