What's on offer - Payment Deferral

Housebuilder Barratt Mercia has secured national funding to help First Time Buyers who want to take their first step on the housing ladder.

The company has announced that hundreds of local households who have previously been priced out of home ownership will be able to take advantage of the Central Government money to buy a property of their own.

The funds are part of a new scheme called FirstBuy which the Chancellor announced in the Budget in April. It is designed to give First Time Buyers a route to home ownership at the lowest possible cost and with the lowest possible deposit.

"Hundreds of First Time Buyers in the area now have the chance to move into a new home with a deposit of as little as £3,120" said Steve Barton, Sales Manager at Barratt Mercia.

"Everyone should be clear that this is a great opportunity to buy a privately owned first home of your own."

"A lot of people will be eligible to take advantage of FirstBuy - any household with a combined income of up to £60,000 qualifies - so I would urge anyone interested to contact us as soon as possible. We have limited availability in this area but we know that demand will be high because thousands of people have already pre-registered their interest on our website."

Under FirstBuy, buyers will be offered a loan of up to 20 per cent of the price of the property, jointly funded by Barratt Mercia and the Government's Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

The buyers then have to find the remaining 80 per cent of the price themselves. Up to 76 per cent of this could be a mortgage, leaving a deposit of just four per cent.

In practice, that means that anyone buying a two-bedroom house from Barratt Mercia priced at £78,000 under the scheme would potentially be able to get on the housing ladder with a deposit of as little as £3,120.

"From the point of view of a First Time Buyer in Warwickshire, FirstBuy represents an outstanding opportunity to take their first step on the housing ladder, added Steve.

Richard Hill, deputy chief executive at the HCA, said: "Thanks to FirstBuy over 10,000 first time buyers will be able to realise the dream of owning their home, while house builders will benefit from an additional source of sales, giving a much-needed boost to the development industry."