The Homebuy Pembrokeshire scheme is funded by the council’s Second Home Premium and looks to address some of the issues buyers face when looking to purchase a home.
Pembrokeshire experiences large variances in property prices across the County that can make many areas unaffordable for first-time buyers. Despite saving a deposit and securing access to a mortgage, house prices can remain a barrier to home ownership.
Pembrokeshire County Council says its Homebuy Pembrokeshire will help to remove this barrier by providing a loan of up to 30% of the property value that is used towards the purchase.
With no interest to pay, the loan is secured against the property as a legal charge, with the value linked to the current market value of the property.
This scheme will be available for an open market property in the County, with additional support if the buyer wishes to purchase an ‘empty property’.
There are schemes throughout Wales that help with the purchase of a new build property. Homebuy Pembrokeshire is different and is only available for Pembrokeshire’s general open housing market.
Under this scheme buyers will have options to make repayment as funds become available, allowing them to reach full ownership.
Cllr Michelle Bateman, Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “The launch of Homebuy Pembrokeshire is part of the administration’s commitment to increasing the supply of affordable housing of all tenures.
“We know that there are barriers which prevent people being able to move onto the housing ladder, and we hope that with this support we can give first-time buyers an opportunity to own their own home.
“The scheme is part of a wide range of measures being taken to address the housing crisis, including our development and acquisitions programme, leasing scheme Wales and support for those wanting to bring empty properties back into use.”
All Homebuy Pembrokeshire applicants need to prove that they have a local connection to the County to qualify, along with other qualifying factors.
This scheme has secured £1million to run as a pilot project, which will invest any return on loans to help grow the County’s affordable housing programme.
The local authority has around 60 empty properties on their books scandalous as it it why oh why has this been slowed some have been empty for twenty years . Shocking and shameful.