As Mark Twain didn’t quite say, there are only three certain things in life: death, taxes and yet another government-backed bung for the housing market. The latest instalment is the 2021 to 2023 Help to Buy scheme, which carries on the theme of offering subsidised loans to first-time buyers – and only first-time buyers.
Here’s what is on offer—from April. Buyers can take out a loan of between five and 20 per cent of the purchase price of a new home (or up to 40 per cent in London). There is a cap on the property price on which the loans are available varies from region to region, ranging from £186,100 in the North East to £600,000 in London. First, the good news: there is no interest payable on the loan for the first five years – just a management fee of £1 a month, which ought not to be too much of a problem for most buyers.
My guess is that the constant ratcheting up of the interest rate is designed deliberately to irritate the homebuyer.
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