Help for first time home buyers

FIRST time house buyers in Warrington who cannot raise a deposit could be getting a helping hand from the borough council as early as next month.
A report is going to the council’s executive board next week recommending the authority take part in the Local Authority Mortgage Scheme – a national scheme to help first time buyers who can afford mortgage repayments but cannot raise a large deposit.
The scheme was first reported by Warrington-Worldwide on March 16.
Since then there has been so much interest from people in the borough that the council has had to put a special page on its website, explaining the basics of the scheme.
Warrington is one of up to 11 councils who will trial the scheme and many other authorities across the country are taking a keen interest in the outcome.
The initiative will see the council “topping up” the deposits of people who are working and live in the borough, to bridge the gap between the cost of a typical 75 per cent and 95 per cent loan offered by banks and other lenders. The council will provide financial assistance to fund up to 20 per cent of a first time buyer’s mortgage, by lodging the funds with the mortgage lender. But they will only incur actual costs if a loss is incurred by the mortgage lender within five years..
According to the Land Registry of England and Wales, the average price of a house in Warrington was £186 049 during the last quarter of last year..
A £5 million commitment to the initiative over five years was included in Warrington budget and more detailed plans will go before it’s executive board next month.
If the scheme is approved by council chiefs on Monday, the scheme could go “live” in the borough during May.