The ‘Secret’ to Getting a Foot on the Property Ladder
Low savings? Self-employed? Riddled with debt? Or, perhaps, you’re simply living in London? There’s dozens of reasons why so many people - predominantly millennials, aka Generation Rent - are finding it nigh on impossible to get their foot (or even just half a toe) on the property ladder. It’s disheartening to think that after all the years at uni, work and ‘following the rulebook’, you’re still not in a position to buy that dream home. So how exactly are young people buying property today? We’ve cracked the (cough) ‘secret’.
Bank of Mum and Dad. Yup, Bank of Mum and Dad - formerly known as BOMAD (no joke… sort of), will account for 26% of all mortgages in 2017, according to research from Legal & General and financial services group Cebr. Parents will lend £6.7 billion this year, up from £5 billion in 2016, providing deposits for over 298,000 mortgages and purchasing homes worth £75 billion. And, while such gestures are indeed a testament of parental generosity, it is a symptom of how broken the housing market is. First-time buyers that get a ‘boost’ from their parents - whether in the form of a hefty deposit, or a Family Springboard Mortgage, can buy 2.6 earlier than those who get no such help.
Help to Buy. Another popular route - one that is often used in conjunction with BOMAD - is the Help to Buy scheme. According to myhomemove.com, the average UK buyer needs a 28% deposit. If you simply don’t have the money sitting in the bank, the Help to Buy scheme can help. The scheme allows first-time buyers to buy a property (usually a new development) with a 5% deposit, and is offered by most high-street banks. Through help to buy, you can also apply for a government backed equity loan. Find out more on the official Help To Buy website.
Shared Ownership. This is a subsidised system that applies to new developments. The minimum household income requirement to apply for such a scheme is usually around £30,000, so most households in London, for example, are eligible to apply. Shared ownership means that you buy between 25% to 75% of the property, which means your mortgage repayments are less. You then have to pay the housing association rent. If you’re interested, find out more over at the share to buy website over here.
Photo by Martin Miranda on Unsplash.
