Hundreds Helped into Home Ownership

OWNING a home has been turned from a dream into reality for hundreds of people across the Tees Valley and County Durham thanks to a specialist team.

The area’s Time2Buy team has helped 600 people into affordable home ownership since it became a government HomeBuy Agent in 2009.

Sam Brewster was a recent person to find a home for herself and fiancé Roy Myers, 25, with help from the Time2Buy specialists.

The 22-year-old now lives in a spacious three bedroom converted property in Hemlington, Middlesbrough, thanks to the affordable option of rent to buy, which gives people the chance to pay 80 per cent of market rent, while saving the rest for a deposit to buy the property.

“It is a lot more affordable than where we were before and it was all pretty easy; it was straightforward and nothing was complicated,” said Sam, a paranormal investigator for Middlesbrough-based company Spirit Seekers. “It is probably the best thing we have ever done.”

“There are so many people struggling but I didn’t even know there were all these options out there.”

Sam, who also shares her home with her Chihuahua puppy Roxie, said the rent to buy option has also made her feel more secure.

 “I did not feel that our last house was our own - it was empty money - but we are now on the road to it; this one feels like a home,” she explained.

“We have got lots of space and a garden. I am really pleased with it and really want to stay here and not move again.”

HomeBuy is a government initiative aimed at helping first time buyers and those re-entering the housing market get onto the property ladder.

The Time2Buy team, a consortium made up of Fabrick Housing Group, Stockton Borough Council, Housing Hartlepool and Endeavour Housing Association, was chosen as an agent to deliver the Government’s HomeBuy schemes across County Durham and Tees Valley in 2009.

A range of affordable home ownership options is available on a variety of different developments in the area. Schemes include equity loan schemes, shared ownership and rent to buy.

In addition to the schemes currently available, it is hoped the area will benefit from further funding for the new equity loan scheme, FirstBuy, which was announced recently. FirstBuy is expected to help around 10,000 purchasers nationwide to buy a new property over the next two years.

Time2Buy is the first point of contact for anyone interested in the HomeBuy schemes, first establishing whether applicants meet eligibility criteria before assessing their financial circumstances to ensure they can afford home ownership in the longer term.

Fully trained team members can help explain the range of schemes available, whether people are eligible to buy a property and how to apply.

On the Time2Buy website people who think they may not be able to afford a home can find out about choices within their means and search for available properties in the area in which they wish to live, or built by a developer of their choice.

Susie Thompson, Group Director of Operations at Fabrick Housing Group, said:

“Hundreds of people that didn’t think home ownership was a possibility for them are now in their own properties.

“The fact we have already helped 600 people and their families into home ownership in this area alone shows there really is a product out there for everyone.