Orbit HomeBuy Agents help young people fly the nest
Your children can fly the nest and find an affordable home in the community in which their family lives. That is the response of Orbit HomeBuy Agents to a recent YouGov survey which claimed that six out of ten adults with children living at home believe that this is an impossible dream.
The survey, commissioned by the Chartered Institute of Housing, indicated that a potential 15 million people in the UK fear that their children must move away from their community in order to find a home but Orbit, the largest HomeBuy Agent in England disagrees.
Manager Karen Coleman explained: “While it is true that young people are finding it harder these days to fund their own home, and more and more are turning to their family for financial help, it certainly isn’t impossible and our own figures prove that. Whether they are unable to raise the required level of deposit or because, as a result of high house prices, their income is insufficient to secure a mortgage, a wide range of HomeBuy products are available. We’re processing around 1,000 applications each month from people keen to take advantage of HomeBuy as a means of affording their own home and we are delighted to be able to help them.”
Karen added: “If you or your child could benefit from some help, please get in touch with us and our friendly team of staff will be able to quickly assess your eligibility. You are under no obligation whatsoever, but this could be your first step in finding an affordable home so you have nothing to lose by giving us a call.”
HomeBuy products are available to first time buyers, key workers, social housing tenants, and those on a local authority waiting list – as long as their annual household income is less than £60,000. In fact, Orbit HomeBuy Agent’s statistics show that their average applicant is in their early 30’s and have a household income in the region of £27k. If they are not living with parents they are privately renting.
A range of HomeBuy products are available. For those wishing to buy their own home, there is the popular New Build HomeBuy scheme under which you would generally take out a mortgage for a share of the property and rent the remaining share at a discounted rate. You can then purchase additional shares in the future until you own the property outright.
Alternatively, many developers are now offering brand new homes for purchase through the HomeBuy Direct scheme. Those eligible can take advantage of equity loans provided jointly by the developer and the government of up to 30 per cent of the property value, with no interest to be paid on the loan for the first five years.
If you prefer to rent, the Rent to HomeBuy and Intermediate Rent schemes allows you to rent your home at a discounted rate while saving up for a deposit to purchase at a later date and both of these are helping many people find an affordable home.
Orbit covers six ‘zones’ including Norfolk and Suffolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire; Coventry and Warwickshire; Hereford and Worcestershire; Staffordshire and Shropshire; and Birmingham, Solihull and the Black Country.
For further information, visit Orbit HomeBuy Agent’s website: orbithomebuyagents.co.uk