First Time buyers and the goverment Homebuy scheme

cazbear_2

Hi my partner and I are currently in the process of going through approvel for the goverment home buyers scheme for a new build flat we want to buy.

We sent off all the paperwork and copies of all the relevent paperwork they asked for we constantly being told the documents are missing even no we no they were there anyway we re-sent them and the house builder even faxed them for us the 3rd time so they could also confim they were there as well yetthey are still claimming they havent been sent even thou they they were phoned when fax to confirm the receipt which they did.


we have inital approval for the scheme but wont get our final approval letter till this all gets sorted it seems to us that the agency opperating the scheme has no ideal what is going on and has no system for thracking documents they recieve we are now concerend that we will miss out on our flat if they dont sort them self soon as we are ready with the morgage in place in principle but cant start any proccedings till we have this letter . I guess what I am really asking has anyone else been through the first buy scheeme and got there approval letters and then latter gone on to reserve there properties and latter on brought there properties and if so did you have the same proplems or are we unqiue we really need to get this moving now.

B_Blank

The scheme isnt to help homebuyers but bulding companies. Buying new build places like this is basically going to mean you are being ripped off. There is a good chance you will be in negative equity the moment you complete on the flat.

You have to ask why is a scheme like this needed? Reason being = to get some mugs to buy new builds which nobody else wants because they are priced too high for the markets.

robrymond

I doubt this is unique, we had similar problems with having to re-send documents. The process is extremely thorough, infact it is possibly more stringent than getting the actual mortgage, so just bear with them! Good luck.

geoffky

Prepare yourself for future shocks as you are taking on all the risk and the price you are paying is high...you are brave or desperate..good luck you will need it..

brit1234

Be careful and I hope you have done your home work into the scheme. Personally I would avoid at all cost. The scheme allows you to pay way over the odds for the property (probably with very small dimensions). You will almost certainly go into negative equity and then experience the time bomb effect of the loan if you don't sell in time.


Personally I would avoid at all costs, I also bet most MSE members would agree. They are for the big building companies benefits and catch the desperate/poorly investigated out.

ItMightBeUsefulOneDay

cazbear wrote: »

Hi my partner and I are currently in the process of going through approvel for the goverment home buyers scheme for a new build flat we want to buy.

I can imagine you're really looking forward to having a place of your own and this seems the only way forward but please, please take a good long look at this before you commit.

New builds are frequently over priced by builders - just search for "surveyor undervalued my house" or "bank won't lend the agreed price" for examples.

Flats are the first to be hit and hit very hard in terms of their value in bad times. Right now the times are bad and are likely to remain so for some years. Family homes (where you can remain for years) tend to hold their price better than shoebox batchellor pad flats.

All these schemes designed to give FTBers a head start are basically methods of artificially inflating prices so the banks balance sheets look better. Ask yourself why these schemes weren't around a few years ago?

You are combining all three of these potential finacial timebombs into one 25 year package.

cazbear_2

oh god thanks for the info I really am unsure about this now had our aproval letter today and now not so sure we should be going ahead. how can we get the independant facts

SusieWoozy_2

Don't be put off completly, just do your research.

We are in the process of buying through firstbuy (just waiting for the mortgage offer) and for us the scheme makes sense. The property is a 3 storey house with 3 DOUBLE bedrooms, ensuite, garage and garden. We have done a lot of research into property in the area and houses on the same estate are on the market as resale close to the price we are paying. We also managed to negoitate carpets throughout.

Having said this, we looked into the scheme a year ago but buying in a different area. The house prices were ALOT more expensive (a house smaller than the one we are buying now was £10k more). After further investigation we noticed that houses on the same estate were going at £20k less as resale so in effect we would be in negative equity the moment we got the keys- not good!

We've decided to take the risk and are happy we've made the right decision, we got a really good mortgage offer and it's affordable.

Good luck with whatever you decide, just do your research it's worth it in some areas but not in others xx

Graham_Devon

brit1234 wrote: »

Personally I would avoid at all costs, I also bet most MSE members would agree. They are for the big building companies benefits and catch the desperate/poorly investigated out.

Even I'd agree, the OP has been given a chance to get out, and I can see both the good and bad in the (IMHO) better scheme, Shared Ownership and am in Shared Ownership myself.

If it was a house, I'd be on the fence. But a new build flat? Now? On this scheme? No chance.

Basically, you have the worst of every world here....and are having to fight to get it!