Shared equity boost for house buyers

Published on Wednesday 24 February 2010 08:45

FIRST-TIME home buyers are to be offered help on to the Capital's property ladder through a £500,000 shared equity scheme in Craigmillar.

The scheme, operated by Craigmillar developer Parc and the city council, will be launched next month.

Buyers will only have to put down a 5 per cent deposit rather than the average 25 per cent. Parc and the council will take a stake of up to 20 per cent in each property and the purchaser will have 20 years to buy over that share.

The homes on offer are one and two-bedroom apartments from 115,000 and two and three-bedroom houses from 145,000.

Parc sales and marketing manager Jim Kelly said: "Securing a mortgage is the primary barrier for buyers in the current market."

Housing convener Paul Edie said the scheme was aimed at enabling people who otherwise could not afford a home to take their first step on the housing ladder.

He said: "The current credit crunch means many people are having difficulty securing mortgages but here we have an imaginative approach to overcoming some of these problems.

"This scheme will add to the regeneration of Craigmillar."