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New homeowners and first time buyers are welcoming the news that the Bank of England has revealed figures that show the lowest interest rates in 6 years. Northern Rock, The Chelsea Building Society and The Co-Operative Bank have all revealed competitive deals recently, which will be a relief for the hundreds of people in the UK wanting to get a foothold on the property ladder.
The 2 year fixed-rate deal has fallen to 3.88% on average for February 2010, this comes as the the lowest rate since July 2003. As well as this, there was also a fall in the average cost of a 5 year fixed rate mortgage, this fell from 5.49% from 5.56% the previous month, a change of 0.07%.
Due to lenders competing to attract good-quality borrowers, interest rates have fallen. This should encourage existing customers to remortgage their property.
First Time Buyers and New Homeowners
There has been the introduction of an innovative new range of guarantor home loans from part of the Nationwide Building Society group, The Mortgage Works.
The scheme gives financial responsibility to parents or relatives for a proportion of the borrower’s mortgage. This removes the risk of backing 100% of the loan. This will help young buyers gain a foot hold in the market and start to climb the property ladder. The scheme requires the applicants to be able to afford at 70% or more of the loan repayments, therefore making the guarantor liable for the other 30%. There is also a 10% cushion.
A different approach has been taken by Halifax, with their “Lend a Hand” deal, giving first time buyers a stronger chance of getting their foot in the door. It means that a buyer can now borrow up to 95% of the value of the property. However, this must be backed by a parent or relatives savings. The demand for mortgages in recent times has meant that deals like this are becoming a more common reality for banks and building societies, providing a different kind of service for borrowers.
First time buyers now have a choice in how they approach trying to obtain a mortgage, like small deposits such as the schemes above.
Another approach a first time buyer may take would be a shared equity scheme that can help when buying an apartment or house. The Hub in Manchester provides such a scheme, where you can buy a studio, 1 bed, 2 bed or 3 bed apartments in Manchester.
Want to find out more about Manchester apartments for sale, then contact Sinead Jones at The Hub Manchester for more information.