Help to Buy - useless in London

lawlie

Is anyone else finding this?

I may well be what the press so like to call the "squeezed middle". Unfortunately, I'm not getting a gifted deposit, and between paying off student debts and whatsnot, have saved about a 5% deposit.

When the government announced the help to buy scheme, I thought :T, this will really help!

Only to find that it is completely useless in London.

A) Why is it impossible to find a list of "participating housebuilders"? Obviously, once you snoop around the internet you get a few names, but shouldn't the govt publish a list so that people can easily access available developments and make use of the scheme?

Nearly all of the participating developments in London are in the dodgiest areas where nobody else would touch with a bargepole. I'd rather not get shot/robbed at knifepoint/walk 30 minutes to get to a tube stop/all of the foregoing, thank you very much.

This is all very ranty so thanks for actually reading it (built up from months of frustration). But is anyone else in London feeling this? Would also be interested to hear from people in other towns and cities what the participating developments have been like in terms of quality, area etc.

I think for those in a similar situation, the answer is just to keep saving...

newbian

lawlie wrote: »

Nearly all of the participating developments in London are in the dodgiest areas where nobody else would touch with a bargepole. I'd rather not get shot/robbed at knifepoint/walk 30 minutes to get to a tube stop/all of the foregoing, thank you very much.

I live in a development that has Help to Buy, although I actually had enough money to pay for my own home myself so did not use it. Haven't been shot or stabbed, and we're City professionals not gangsters as are most of our neighbours.

You can stay renting if you'd like since you are too good to live in such an area.