There are literally dozens of articles and websites that point at this topic. The most informed appears to be   http://www.counciltenantsmortgages.co.uk   and      http://www.sharedownershipmortgages.org.uk
There are literally dozens of articles and websites that point at this topic. The most informed appears to be   http://www.counciltenantsmortgages.co.uk   and      http://www.sharedownershipmortgages.org.uk
July 18, 2007 at 9:32 am
The government is expected to unveil plans for thousands of new council homes after 10 years of Labour opposition to such housing.
Adam Sampson, chief executive of the housing charity, said more social housing was needed as fast as possible.
But Defend Council Housing blamed government policy of “dis-investing” in council homes for a housing shortage.
The private sector just hasn’t ever delivered the decent, affordable, secure homes that people need
Alan Walter
Defend Council Housing
Speaking at a Labour Policy Forum on Saturday, Gordon Brown said he had seen young children suffering because of sub-standard accommodation and young couples unable to buy their first home.
He said local authorities and housing associations would have a larger role and more money would be put into rented accommodation.
Mr Sampson said: “Whether or not it has to be council is neither here nor there. The key thing is that the government bring on as quickly as possible as much socially rented homes as we can create.
‘Council ghettos’
“But it’s also important that those homes are built in the right place and we don’t go back to the council ghettos that we had in the past.”
He added that the major shortage in social housing was a consequence of selling off a third of the six million council homes under the right-to-buy scheme.
Last week, Gordon Brown announced that three million new homes would be built by 2020 – up 250,000 from the previous plan.
Now if the Government are determined to build 250,000 homes. How many lenders will sign up for this??
July 18, 2007 at 9:56 am
[...] on Gooog – But Shared Ownership Mortgages is going to be a bit of a bugger. So I have created this SHARED OWNERSHIP MORTGAGES « SharedOwnershipMortgages I did that this morning – I’m not intending to feed anything other than news items that have the [...]
July 18, 2007 at 10:29 am
A recent post in this forum shows one young families hopes and ambitions on getting on the Housing Ladder
http://www.davidcastle.org/BB/mortgages-first-time-buying-and-or-self-building-vt3564.html
July 18, 2007 at 10:36 am
As someone who will be looking to relocate soon, the options and costs to move into decent accommodation are far too high. The young people my age are having to cram into expensive tiny houses in the local towns where parking is ridiculous and the crime-rate is a high.
Personally I think that if the government do not focus on making an effort to make the locations safe and accessible then they are going to recreate the ‘council ghetto’ environment which is what nobody wants. Shared ownership mortgages would possibly be a solution to this problem if it helps make the costs more manageable.
July 24, 2007 at 7:41 am
The Complete Government White Paper is here
http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/967/HomesforthefuturemoreaffordablemoresustainableHousingGreenPaper_id1511967.pdf
July 24, 2007 at 1:05 pm
CLOUD CUCKOO LAND by David Castle aka “ctabuk”
Read this please and have a good giggle.Housing green paper to fight ‘housing injustice’
Housing minister Yvette Cooper has unveiled the government’s new housing green paper, promising to deliver “decent housing for the many and not just the few”.
The government’s strategy to take on the housing crisis will see a rapid increase in house building to meet demand, better designed houses to meet changing social and environmental demands, and new homes for the poorest areas of society.
Ms Cooper told parliament: “We need to build more homes across England. The housing shortage means first-time buyers and young families are finding it increasingly hard to get their first step onto the housing ladder unless they have financial help from parents or relatives – and that’s just not fair.
“Unless we act now by 2026 first time buyers will find average house prices are ten times their salary. That could lead to real social inequality and injustice.
“Every part of the country needs more affordable homes – in the north and the south, in urban and rural communities.”
As a part of the target to build three million new homes by 2020, the government will invest £8 billion in affordable housing. Land for 1.6 million properties has already been identified and Ms Cooper pledged that the further land for needed would not encroach on the greenbelt.
The green paper also outlined plans for five new eco-towns.
Responding to the proposals, shadow housing minister Grant Shapps said: “Home ownership has fallen for the first time since records began. First-time buyers are at their lowest since 1980 and pay an average of £1,500 in stamp duty – £8,000 in London – where in 1997 the average was nothing.
“We will lend our cross-party support to measures which build sustainable, eco-friendly communities on brownfield sites.”
HeHe – 3 million new homes in 13 years – OK here’s the math
Approx 4,748.25 days to achieve target.
That’s only 631 Completions per day – with no Holidays – No Bad weather (Well NO it’s always perfect in the UK – Builders love laying foundations in flooded areas -it makes the bricks lighter, and less far to go for water for the cement mixer!!)
July 27, 2007 at 8:20 am
A new website has been set up by CTAB on this subject
http://www.sharedownershipmortgages.org.uk
July 28, 2007 at 9:28 am
The Basics of Shared Ownership Mortgages
25th July 2007
Author: michael sterios
Shared ownership mortgages are specialist mortgages that are designed to cater for purchasing property through shared ownership schemes.
Shared ownership schemes are also known as shared equity schemes and have become a popular method for first-time-buyers to get a foot on the property ladder if they do not have the funds necessary to pay for the deposit required for more traditional mortgage products.
At present there are only a few lenders who offer shared ownership mortgages, however, the list is growing. Even the Government has showed interest in becoming involved in shared ownership schemes in the wake of increasing property prices and low home affordability.
A shared ownership scheme allows a property buyer to purchase part of a property and rent the remainder from the property developer. This means that the developer and the property buyer jointly own the property.
The buyer can fund the purchase of the portion of the property they purchase with shared ownership mortgages and therefore get a foot onto the property ladder without having to pay for a cash deposit.
As time goes by, the buyer can purchase additional portions of the property until such time as they own it outright. Shared ownership mortgages can assist the buyer in funding the purchase of the additional portions of the property.
The amount of money that is required to purchase the additional portions of the property will be assessed on the market value of the property at the time. This means that as property prices rise, the amount of money that will be required to fund the additional purchased will also rise.
Any repairs and maintenance on the property will most likely be required to be funded by the occupant, regardless of the fact that the property developer will still own part of the property.
Shared ownership mortgages are usually only available to applicants who are in full-time permanent employment and who have a clean credit history.
The target market for shared ownership mortgages is hard working individuals who are good candidates for keeping up with the repayments on the mortgage but who may not have the means to save enough cash for a deposit.
Potential applicants who have an intermittent working pattern or who suffer from adverse credit may not be successful in securing shared ownership mortgages.
UKMortgageSource provides up-to-date information on Shared Ownership Mortgages
This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.a1articles.com/article_191772_33.html
July 30, 2007 at 8:57 am
A new shared equity mortgage to help an extra 20,000 people buy their own home has been announced by the UK Government. The Government has teamed up with four private sector lenders, Nationwide Building Society, Yorkshire Building Society, Advantage Home Loans and HBOS. The shemes are available via Homebuy Brokers such as CTAB Mortgage Desk http://www.sharedownershipmortgages.org.uk has the details.
Currently, a family on a combined income of £35,000 could typically obtain a mortgage of just £122,500. But if eligible for Open Market HomeBuy, they could potentially buy a home worth over £160,000. Although mortgage rates are still low, rising house prices have put pressure on first time buyers. Almost half of home buyers in their twenties now rely on help from family or friends to get started.
Yvette Cooper said: “We want to help more families get a first step on to the housing ladder. If you haven’t got family or friends who can help it can be hard to get started. In the long run we need to build more homes to ease the pressure on house prices. But in the meantime this new mortgage deal will help thousands of families into a home of their own.”
Open Market HomeBuy will allow house hunters to apply for a regular mortgage topped up with equity loans, funded by Government and one of the four lenders. No deposit is required and monthly repayments will start at around 20% less than buying without assistance, because lenders and Government would expect to benefit from any increase in the value of their equity share in the property.
The scheme is available to key public sector workers, social tenants or those on a council waiting list and other priority first time buyers. Applicants will need to contact a HomeBuy agent. A list is available from CTAB’s website http://www.counciltenantsmortgages.co.uk – a one stop shop providing Mortgages aimed at affordable housing options across the UK. In order to qualify, an applicant would need to be able to fund 75% of their purchase with a mortgage offered by one of the four lenders. This will be topped up with two equity loans each worth 17.5% of the purchase price from the Government and the lender.
The scheme allows the buyer to choose any property on the open market within their price range. There are no charges on the lender’s equity loan for the first 5 years, and no charge will ever be placed on the Government’s equity loan. In return both the lender and the Government will be entitled to a share of any increase in the value of the property when the home is sold and the equity loan repaid.
In addition to the new HomeBuy mortgage launched today, qualifying households have the option to buy a shared ownership home through New Build HomeBuy, or buy their social rented home through Social HomeBuy. The Government is investing £970 million in the Housing Corporation’s Affordable Housing programme for 35,000 low cost home ownership properties. English Partnerships is also offering equity loans on homes on public sector land. In addition, the Shared Equity Task Force will report by the end of the year on ways to further increase the number of households able to benefit from shared equity schemes.
August 15, 2007 at 10:21 am
COUNCIL tenants could get help to buy part of their home after councillors voted to support a £2.6 million shared ownership scheme.
Under the scheme, council tenant applicants would purchase part of a new property, with Brent Housing Partnership (BHP) buying the remainder.
Following Brent Council’s decision, BHP could make use of a £2 million council loan and £650,000 from the Greater London Authority, if the partnership agrees to the scheme later this month.
advertisementThe council hopes the decision will open up more housing places as tenants vacate social housing when they get on the property ladder.
Director of housing and community care, Martin Cheesman, said: “Rising house prices mean the chance to own a property is slipping out of the reach of many tenants, but this scheme will give that opportunity to more people.
“It also offers advantages over existing schemes, such as the right to buy, because it offers more choice to tenants to select a property and is more affordable.”
The shortage in housing has been put down to the success of the government’s right to buy initiative, and the council expects this new scheme to be heavily over-subscribed.
Applicants will then be put through a rigorous selection process to ensure the scheme helps the right people. Initially, there will only be 20 places available, and the council is considering holding a grand draw to select who qualifies.
12:57pm Tuesday 14th August 2007
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September 14, 2007 at 10:20 am
£500 million incentive for local authorities to build more homes
Publisher: Jon Land
Published: 14/09/2007 – 08:41:30 AM
£500 million incentive for local authorities to build more homes
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The Government today announced details of a £500 million incentive for local authorities to build more homes.
The money will be handed to local councils who produce plans to speed up delivery of new homes, identify suitable sites, and increase housing within set timescales.
It is thought the grants will be aimed at areas where there is a shortage of housing, such as in the South East.
The scheme is aimed at creating more homes for a mix of people, including young families and first-time buyers.
Housing Minister Yvette Cooper said the scheme was aimed at combating the increasing housing shortage and enabling more people to get on the housing ladder.
“This money is about extra support for those councils who are already doing their bit, and some of are really doing a lot of work now to support additional housing, but we know that others really need to do more and that is what this is about,” she told BBC Breakfast.
She said councils needed to identify the best sites in their areas, and part of the money would go to support that.
Ms Cooper said we needed to “face up to the fact” that more housing in needed.
She said: “Otherwise people aren\’t going to get on the housing ladder in future.
“We are going to see more and more overcrowding, people on council lists.
“For the sake of our sons and daughters, we\’ve got to build more homes.
“You\’ve got to do it in a proper way that\’s protecting the green space, that\’s protecting the countryside, but you can\’t just put your head in the sand and say this is going to go away – it won\’t, it\’s not fair on future generations.”
Ms Cooper is expected to give further details of the proposals later today, when she will say that many councils are failing to be proactive enough in identifying the homes their communities need.
The focus of the new proposals is building new homes on brownfield land, the Government said.
More than 200 extra disused brownfield public sector sites have now been identified across the country, in addition to the 550 sites announced by the Prime Minister earlier this year.
They are all now being assessed for their suitability for housing.
The £500 million incentive – the Housing and Planning Delivery Grant (HPDG) – will go to local authorities which meet certain criteria.
They must deliver against their housing plans to meet local need, and meet agreed “development” targets to speed up delivery.
In addition, councils will be required to identify at least five years worth of sites ready for housing and a further 10 years worth for future development.
The first payments are expected to be made next year.
Ian Fletcher, director for residential policy at the British Property Federation, said local authorities have probably the “most important” role if housing targets are to be met and it was therefore not surprising that the Government was providing them with the “carrot of funding”.
He said: “Many councils have already accepted the compelling case that with 1.6 million on council waiting lists and supply falling short by 60,000 or so households a year, we need more homes. We hope this will stimulate even more to consider increasing the land they identify for housing development.”
Ministers want to see three million new homes built by 2020 to tackle the UK\’s housing shortage.
Research from the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit (NHPAU) shows that if more homes are not built, house prices will rise to 10 times average earnings by 2026.
House prices have nearly trebled in the past 20 years.
More than 150 major organisations, including housebuilders, green groups and local councils, have joined up to a new partnership to work together to build 240,000 new zero-carbon homes a year by 2016. the Government said.
Sir Simon Milton, chairman of the Local Government Association, said the extra money was a “significant injection of cash” that would help councils identify sites for new homes.
But he expressed disappointment that it appeared the Government was rewarding councils for playing a “crude numbers game”.
He said: “Councils want to work with the Government to build the new homes that the country needs.
“It is disappointing that this announcement seems to be rewarding councils for playing a crude numbers game and ignores the needs of the majority of councils with housing challenges.
“A key issue is where the money goes as there will be many areas that this money does not cover which will have equally as pressing housing needs for local families.
“What is also now necessary is for funding for the roads, schools and hospitals needed to turn desolate dormitories into places where people can live and work.”
Sir Simon said financial incentives for councils to identify potential housing sites would free up land, but added it is important that densely populated areas are not penalised simply because they have less land available for development.
The Government also needs to consider the large amounts of land owned by developers which already have planning permission, he said.
“Although we understand the minister\’s impatience, we find it disappointing that this announcement does not recognise that many private companies are sitting on vast tracts of undeveloped land that they have yet to develop.
“If businesses could be encouraged to start building, rather than sitting on brownfield land, then many more affordable homes could be built.”
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