Joe Harker
Brits who want to get on the property ladder but don't have the sort of money needed to buy a house have a limited time to take advantage of a scheme which lets them put up a deposit of just five percent.
That house price rises have far outstripped wage growth in the UK is no surprise to Brits, who have found that their ability to afford a house has become increasingly hampered.
There are a number of schemes in place to try and help salve this wound, including a government-backed plan to offer mortgages where you only need a five percent deposit to buy a house.
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On the plus side you could become the proud owner of a nice but not new home, as the scheme doesn't let you buy new builds with it, without blowing through all your money.
On the downside owing that much money means higher repayments, and the scheme isn't going to last for much longer anyway.
The deadline for this thing is 30 June, 2025, so you've already got less than a year to take advantage of the deal if it sounds to your liking.
There's a bunch of rules about what properties you can and can't buy, as it can't be a new build and can't be worth more than £600,000 when you buy the place.
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It has to be your main residential home in the UK, and it'll need to be a repayment mortgage and not an interest-only one which you get.
The financial boffins over at moneysavingexpert.com have pointed out that the scheme which expires next year is better for lenders but not borrowers.
The site said that the point of the scheme was to get lenders offering more 95 percent mortgages, not to create special versions of those deals that are sweeter for the buyers.
Part of the scheme is that your deposit is at least five percent and at most nine percent, while Money Saving Expert notes that repayment rates 'tend to be MUCH higher' until you get to a 10 percent deposit.
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They advised Brits looking to buy homes that the thresholds for repayment rates tended to get better at 90 percent, 80 percent, 75 percent and 60 percent.
Their advice to buyers looking for a five percent deposit is to see if they can't push it to 10 percent to take advantage of the lower repayments.
Other offers that give you something similar are available, like the scheme that can get you buying a house with a deposit of as little as £5,000.
This would be an offer for first time buyers, but once again the perils of having a small deposit and a big mortgage would be something to contend with.