New scheme for low-income people to own a home |
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Published
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Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:05
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EDINBURGH: Scotland has launched a new scheme to help people with low incomes to possess homes. Communities minister Malcolm Chisholm, announcing the shared equity scheme, called Homestake, at Inverness, said it will ensure that prospective home buyers get their homes paying between 60 per cent and 80 per cent of the cost of the property, the balance being paid by housing associations.
Some 20 Homestake projects are expected to take off this year, helping 1,000 home buyers annually. More than 500 people have already expressed an interest in the scheme.
Chisholm said the government is committed to huge expansion in affordable housing and aims to build 21,500 homes over the next three years. The government has told local authorities to release adequate land for the projects. The cost of land comes to about a third of the price of a house. The scheme will also cover disabled people, those who rent but want to move into home ownership and existing owners whose homes are scheduled for demolition.
A person need to have income in the range of 18,000 pounds to 23,000 pounds to be eligible for the scheme and a typical two-bedroom home will cost 85,000 pounds. The buyers will be required to pay 51,000 pounds to 68,000 pounds. If the house is sold, they can keep a percentage of the sale price equivalent to their original stake.
The project will be run by Communities Scotland, the executive's housing agency. Prospective buyers can take an equity stake of between 60 per cent and 80 per cent of the market value of a property, with the option of increasing it to 100 per cent after a minimum period of two years from the date of purchase. However, they will not be required to to pay rent on top of their mortgage for the proportion they do not own.
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