Allocation of homes available through FirstBuy Scheme announced

June 30, 2011 - PRLog -- Having been granted with a £35m allocation from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), the housebuilder will be able to provide the first time buyer market with 2,100 new homes across England. As such, buyers looking to take their first step onto the property ladder are now being encouraged to contact their regional Persimmon Homes office or log onto the website www.persimmonhomes.com/firstbuy for information on how FirstBuy could help turn their home owning dreams into a reality.

Having been awarded the largest allocation of the previous Government’s successful HomeBuy Direct scheme, Persimmon is well placed to help first time buyers understand and fully utilise the opportunity the new FirstBuy scheme represents.

Steve Roche, group communications director for Persimmon Homes, says: “The expertise of our sales advisers in helping people apply for, and buy through, Government funded equity loan schemes is second to none having assisted over 2,000 purchasers to buy their first home with the previous HomeBuy Direct scheme.”

FirstBuy is offered through equity loan funding of up to 20% of the purchase price split equally between the Homes and Communities Agency and Persimmon, with purchasers being required to raise funding (a mortgage plus deposit) of at least 80% of the purchase price. This would mean that for a property worth £160,000 buyers would need to secure a mortgage of £120,000, with a deposit of just £8,000.

Steve continues: “FirstBuy provides a fantastic opportunity, giving thousands of people the ability to own their own home. We are confident that we will have a new home at a development to suit the needs of local buyers who have been striving to own their own home previously, with further details on our locations found on our website.”

Military personnel have been given top priority for housing help and will be amongst the first to benefit from the Government scheme.

Mike Farley, chief executive of Persimmon plc, added: “It is important that we give our Armed Forces a helping hand onto the property ladder.  We are delighted to be able to support more than 2,100 troops and other first time buyers in the purchase of their new homes right across the country thanks to the Government funding in the FirstBuy Scheme.”

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.”

For buyers that do not meet the requirements of FirstBuy, which is expected to help 10,000 families get onto the property ladder, Persimmon also offers its own Shared Equity Scheme and homes that can be bought through the Kickstart II initiative.


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