First time buyers in Nottinghamshire helped by council scheme

A county council backed mortgage support scheme has given first time buyers in Nottinghamshire the help they need to get on the housing ladder.

The £1.7 million scheme has meant 90 mortgages are either being processed or have completed since Nottinghamshire County Council launched the Local Lend a Hand scheme, in partnership with Lloyds TSB, on 26 February this year.

Figures have shown that Mansfield and Ashfield first time buyers form just under half of new buyers securing a mortgage in Nottinghamshire.

The figure for Mansfield is 29 per cent while Ashfield currently has 20 per cent of mortgages agreed or in the process of being agreed in the district.

Coun David Kirkham, chairman of finance and property committee at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “First-time buyers often say that raising a deposit is the biggest obstacle to getting onto the property ladder, so I’m delighted that our scheme has already given so many Notts house-buyers a helping hand.

“A vibrant housing market is vital to a healthy economy and the positive impact of the £1.7m committed to date is going far beyond the 90 new homeowners we are helping.

“Paying a lower deposit and lower monthly repayments frees up more capital for new homeowners to invest in their new property, providing a knock-on benefit to a multitude of local businesses, from builders and plumbers to furniture and DIY shops.

Della Jones (29) from Ashfieldis now the proud owner of a house in Huthwaite after signing up for the scheme.

She said: “The offer I received through the Local Lend a Hand scheme was considerably better than anything offered by any other lender, even better than any of the deals available through a mortgage broker. The monthly mortgage repayments are about a third less than what I would have been paying to rent the same house.”