Couple give-up renting with HomeBuy Direct

Young professionals William Dalton, 28 and Michelle Lee, 24 had been renting a three-bedroom apartment for three years in Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne, before they discovered Halyards Place in the quiet village of Hailsham by Barratt Southern Counties.

Keen to make their first step onto the property ladder, they were surprised to learn that they would be able to afford to buy a two-bedroom, two-bathroom semi-detached home on the development for less than they were spending on rent each month.

As first time buyers in the current economic climate, value for money was very important. Barratt helped William and Michelle make this important step for their future through a fantastic new scheme called HomeBuy Direct. Barratt and the Government jointly funded a 30 per cent equity loan for the couple, meaning that their mortgage repayments on the remaining 70 per cent of the property were significantly less than the £800 a month they had been previously spending every month on rent.

For William, who works as a branch manager for a finance company, this shared equity scheme was very appealing: “Homebuy Direct prompted us to consider buying our own home for the first time. It’s a cracking scheme which means that young professionals like us can afford to buy a great property at a reasonable price.”

Michelle, who works in occupational health, also appreciated the longer-term benefits of buying through the scheme: “There is an option to pay Barratt and the Government back for the loan over a five year interest free period – which is great – and means that we can work towards owning the whole 100 per cent in the near future.”

Under HomeBuy Direct, buyers will be protected against possible falls in property values by up to 30 per cent as the Barratt/Government equity share will absorb price risk. In addition, there is no interest to pay on the joint Barratt/Government equity stake for the first five years, although a fee will be charged from the sixth year onwards.

Buyers can redeem the loan in installments, purchasing up to 100 per cent of the equity after their initial purchase by buying additional equity at the market rate. Alternatively, if they sell their home, the equity loan is repaid by way of a share of the sale proceeds.

William and Michelle are really pleased with their new home: “Having lived in a Barratt home as a child, I know from experience that Barratt homes are of the highest build quality and have always aspired to live in one again. I am also thrilled to be moving out of a busy town and into the Sussex countryside to such a beautiful setting,” said William.

They are also pleasantly surprised that the whole purchase went through so smoothly and quickly. Michelle adds, “We first visited the development just four weeks ago and now everything’s all done and dusted, we were even able to pick out our carpets ahead of moving in; just one of the advantages of buying off-plan!”

Barratt Southern Counties is backing the HomeBuy Direct initiative with a total of 3,000 homes nationwide and over 70 in the East Sussex area. “We have had a tremendous response for HomeBuy Direct since its launch earlier this year, which shows that there is still enormous demand for new homes in this area,” said Lynnette St Quintin, Sales Director at Barratt Southern Counties.

“People who have been priced out of the housing market for years can see this is an outstanding opportunity to buy with prices much lower than they were at the height of the market in 2007. The 30 per cent equity loan from ourselves and the Government means that in many cases they don’t even need to have a deposit.”

At Barratt’s luxury Halyards Place development in Hailsham there are 14 three and four-bedroom homes currently available under the scheme, priced from £225,995. The development, just north of Eastbourne, compliments the local character of existing properties in the area by adopting an East Sussex cottage-style design.

At H20 in Eastbourne there are also 59 apartments allocated to HomeBuy Direct, priced from £119,995 for a one-bedroom apartment and £156,995 for a two-bedroom apartment. This eclectic development offers contemporary Art-Deco style apartments, the architecture of which reflects that of surrounding buildings. H20 is located in Susan’s Road, within the Meads conservation area. The beach is a few minutes’ walk away.

To register for the scheme, visit Barratthomes.co.uk/homebuydirect. The website contains the full list of sites across the UK. Households eligible to take advantage of the offer need to earn less than £60,000 and would not normally be able to afford to buy a suitable property on the open market.