First time buyer gets a move on to use HomeBuy Direct in Coventry

Aug. 18, 2010 - PRLog -- Richard Hancock, 27, felt time was running out on him to get onto the property ladder.  With the threatened end to HomeBuy Direct looming he decided there would never be a better time than now, with prices low and with help available from HomeBuy Direct, to make the move into home ownership, with a new 2 bedroom house at Liberty Park from Wates Living Space.

In the last few years all Richard’s friends had bought their own homes, many of them at the peak of the market and were finding things tough, yet canny Richard was still living at home in Walsgrave Coventry.  But he knew that he wanted to own his own home sometime, and kept a close eye on when the market conditions might be best.  “I felt like I was getting left behind, but I didn’t want to make the move and regret it, so I’ve been keeping a close watch on what’s happening in the local market” says Richard.

“It was HomeBuy Direct that was the catalyst really, the thought that I didn’t need a huge deposit to buy was very appealing.  Things have changed so much in such a short time, my friends all got mortgages with tiny deposits, that’s just not possible these days.  But with HomeBuy Direct it makes it so much more affordable.”

The HomeBuy Direct scheme allows purchasers to pay for 70% of the price using a conventional mortgage, and fund the remaining 30% through an equity loan from the Homes and Communities Agency which is interest free for five years and doesn’t need to be repaid until the home is re-sold.

The trigger point for Richard was when the future of HomeBuy Direct looked uncertain following on from the change of Government.  He knew it would be prudent to get in now whilst the funding was still in place.  

“At Liberty Park we have HomeBuy Direct available on all of our 2, 3 and 4 bedroom homes” says Wates Living Space spokesperson Helen Todd, “and the funding is guaranteed until the end of 2010, after then - who knows!”

Richard, a team manager for British Gas B2B, plans to take in a friend as a lodger to help share the costs further and ensure there’s enough money to be able to still enjoy the nicer things in life “Like Sky TV” says Richard “there’s no point in moving away from home if I can’t have the same perks!”

Richard looked at other properties in the Coventry area but decided that Liberty Park was the one for him. “I really liked the house, it’s such an open design, and is really light.  For a two bedroom home it feels really spacious”.  

Liberty Park has 2, 3 and 4 bedroom homes available with prices ranging between £99.950 and £154,950. The marketing suite and show homes are open Thursday to Monday. Telephone 0845 676 0160 or visit www.libertyparkcoventry.co.uk for more information.

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• Wates is one of the UK’s largest family-owned construction services and development companies. Established in 1897, it remains privately owned by the Wates Family. Wates employs over 2000 people and had a turnover of £945 million in 2009.
• Part of the family owned Wates Group, Wates Living Space is one of the UK’s leading affordable housing contractors, working with RSLs and ALMOs we build or refurbish in the region of 20,000 homes for residents each year through the New Build and decent homes programme.
• Wates Living Space was awarded Contractor of the Year at the Housing Excellence Awards and Sustainable Contractor of the Year at the Inside Housing Sustainable Housing Awards in 2009.
www.wates.co.uk