Buying a home – 1st time buyers

[Lazy Nite]

Hey ppl

Can anyone recommend a good website for buying properties?

I’ve read Pharmacists are classed as ‘Key workers’…

How does this help in buying a property, does anyone know? Discount for NHS staff?

Any suggestions please

[Fleegle]

Re: Buying a home – 1st time buyers

Hey Lazy..

If you're looking for quality of life in the UK

ESPC - Edinburgh property for sale or rent

Don't rule it out...

[Asterix]

Re: Buying a home – 1st time buyers

Seems like Lazy is buying something new each day.

[Lazy Nite]

Re: Buying a home – 1st time buyers

Thanx Fleegle

I tried the link, buts its limited to Edinburgh.

I would love to experience life in Edinburgh or maybe the Highlands.

But I think I want to remain a London Lass

Giggsy – Buying something new each day releases my happy hormones…try it!

I will be grateful if anyone could recommend a site for London……

[Sir_Dispensalot]

Re: Buying a home – 1st time buyers

sorry lazy no good for london.

If you fancy a move oop north to rochdale though, i'd be more than happy to help you find a pad...

[SolomonQ]

Re: Buying a home – 1st time buyers

rightmove.com

aboutmyplace.com

until very recently, pharmacists could get atleast a 95% mortagage, but easily a 101% or even 110% through some vendors, e.g. Scottish widows bank. But after the credit crunch thingy 95% is the best one at the moment.

[johnep]

Re: Buying a home – 1st time buyers

Get Kirsty and Phil to help. Then we could all watch.
johnep

[Lazy Nite]

Re: Buying a home – 1st time buyers

That’s very sweet of you Sir Dispensalot…..

Solomon – Thank you for the links; I’ve tried them, some good properties but no mention of key workers. At the mo I’ve only found Housing Options for key workers.

John - That’s a fantastic idea! Lazy will be famous….

[SolomonQ]

Re: Buying a home – 1st time buyers

housing options for key wokers:

from my brief search (lol!!!) of the internet, key worker loans are available to NHS clinical staff not including doctors or dentists (would laugh again but they dont need them anyway).

They can lend you upto £50,000 towards the deposit on a property, this depends on your circumstances, so you probably need to fill in a big/long form. The way you repay the loan is when you sell the property and its in line with the growth in the houses value e.g. 20k loan on 100k property (20%) which is then sold for 150k means a loan repayment of 30k (20%).

Also read BBC NEWS | Business | Ask the expert: Key worker mortgages

[Steve G]

Re: Buying a home – 1st time buyers

Why buy now when you could wait a year and save at least 10%, if not 20%. The housing market is going to crash and burn in the next one to two years. We have had the biggest house price boom in the last decade and it is going to be followed by the biggest crash. Which means that you will be able to get more than a rabbit hutch in London for £250,000.

I'm in the same boat as you, Lazy, being a potential FTB. Keep your powder dry and smile when the Nationwide and Halifax surveys come out each month and work out how much you've saved by waiting a month.

For more analysis on the housing market look at the house prices board on MoneySavingExpert.com Forums but if you do want to press on people on the house buying, renting and selling board should be able to give you some advice about key worker schemes.

[howe928]

Re: Buying a home – 1st time buyers

FYI, just one of many that i found

Reference taken from Broomleigh - our homes

What is Key Worker Living?

Key Worker Living is a government led initiative designed to assist front line key workers particularly in community safety, health and education sectors, whose services are essential to local communities and who need to live within a reasonable "travel to work" distance.

The initiative is targeted at those areas where there are clear recruitment and / or retention difficulties, linked to the cost of housing.

If you are a key worker you may have a wide range of schemes available to you, depending on your needs.

* New Homes To Buy – brand new homes to buy on a part buy/part rent basis – either in a scheme that is exclusively for key workers or you could purchase a property as a local applicant.
* New Homes To Rent – at a rent that is lower than the market rent.
* Open market Homebuy Scheme – choose a property on the open market, purchase a 75% share and receive an equity loan for the remaining 25% share, 50% of this will be from the HomeBuy agent (see below) and 50% from your mortgage lender.

Who are Key Workers?

If you think you are a key worker, you should check your job title against an upto date eligibility list, as this is constantly evolving. It includes:

* Health workers (NHS staff including Social Workers etc)
* Teachers, including FE teachers
* Prison Officers and some Prison Service staff
* Probation Officers, Senior Probation Officers and Probation Service Officers
* Local Authority Social Workers
* Local Authority Occupational Therapists
* Local Authority Educational Psychologists
* Metropolitan Police

The detailed eligibility for each key worker group may change over time depending on the take up of the schemes. Funding is restricted and schemes are prioritised. Full details and eligibility criteria need to be checked with a HomeBuy Agent.

Who or What are HomeBuy Agents?

To provide greater clarity about all the options available, the Government has appointed ‘HomeBuy Agents’ across London and the South East to become 'one-stop shops' for key workers and local applicants. They will be able to confirm the eligibility of key worker status and provide information on the range of options available.

Who is my HomeBuy Agent and how do I get in touch with them?

If you work in London,

* Phone 0845 600 6699 (check this number)
* Via the following Web site    .:. Housing Options - Your gateway to affordable housing .
* Speak to your current or prospective employer

You can always contact us and we will assist you. If you work elsewhere then please contact us for details of your HomeBuy agent.

What does Broomleigh do for Key Workers?

Broomleigh has a number of key worker rented and shared ownership schemes available now or in development.

Click here to see properties available now or shortly.

Other features of Key Worker Living

If you purchase a property under Key Worker Living, there are "clawback" arrangements in place.

Upon sale or transfer of the property or within five years of leaving a qualifying form of employment, the remaining share not owned by you must be purchased or the property sold.
The clawback rules do not apply under the following circumstances:

* Retirement
* Redundancy
* Leave with employer's permission, for health reasons validated by a health professional (e.g. early retirement on health grounds, dismissal on health grounds)
* Death in service (when it would become a matter for probate)
* Career break of up to 12 months with employer’s permission. Can be extended to maximum of three years in exceptional circumstances

[howe928]

Re: Buying a home – 1st time buyers

another one for you:    .:. Housing Options - Your gateway to affordable housing .

[Lazy Nite]

Re: Buying a home – 1st time buyers

Great advice guys! Impressive!

Your good advice has greatly added to my little research…..

I already live in a very nice area in London, but the houses in the area are too expensive.

[Steve G]

Re: Buying a home – 1st time buyers

Shared equity/shared ownership schemes are simply a way for developers to continue pushing house prices up - don't worry if you can't afford to buy a house, you can buy half a share in a house and pay rent for the other half. And the government support such schemes so that they can be seen to be doing something and can carry on bringing in the stamp duty.

The existence of shared equity schemes shows that the market is over inflated, as there are a large number of people who cannot afford to buy houses.

Also, what happens with shared ownership schemes in a falling property market? You buy a house valued at £200k, with a mortgage of 150K and equity loan of 50k. When you want to move five years later, and the house is now valued at 100k (ok, unlikely, but for ease of figures), how much do you have to pay back - the original 50k, or 25k (i.e. 25% of the sale price)?

[howe928]

Re: Buying a home – 1st time buyers

i read one of their example, it is % of the sale price as agreed on contract