Sutton business advisers and accountants Harmer Slater has announced the latest government initiative on housing has been started.

The London Help to Buy scheme was launched earlier this month. The scheme is an extension of the current Help to Buy scheme.The government’s flagship Help to Buy schemes were launched in October 2013 and since then more than 130,000 homes have been bought across the country.

The new London Help to Buy scheme allows residents of the capital to buy a new home with a 5% deposit and a mortgage as low as 55%. The main change in this scheme is the doubling of the government equity loan from 20% to 40%. The loan is interest free for the first 5 years. The London Help to Buy equity loans are available to first time buyers as well as homeowners looking to move to a newly built home with a price tag of up to £600,000.

Communities Secretary Greg Clark said:
‘Our multi-billion pound investment will open the door to thousands of Londoners wanting to own their own home, following in the footsteps of nearly 270,000 people who have already bought through government-backed schemes. And now with the improved Help to Buy scheme launching in London, I would urge anyone who thinks home ownership is out of reach to look again at the help on offer.’

The following banks and building societies are currently offering the London Help to Buy scheme: Aldermore, Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Halifax, Leeds, Lloyds, Nationwide, Natwest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Teachers Building Societies. It was also announced that the Help to Buy: Equity loan scheme has been extended to 2021 with a further £8.6 billion of government support.

Details

Harmer Slater are an independent firm of chartered accountants and business advisers located in Sutton, close to central London with experience in dealing with listed and unlisted businesses operating across a range of industries in the UK and overseas. For full details go to HARMER