Vistry Teams and Generation Home to Help People onto Property Ladder

Vistry East Midlands has teamed up with a new mortgage provider to give house-hunters in the region a helping hand onto the property ladder.

The housebuilder, part of the Vistry Group which comprises Linden Homes, Bovis Homes and Vistry Partnerships, has joined forces with Generation Home to make home ownership more accessible to young first-time buyers.

Established in October last year, Generation Home offers a range of mortgage products with unique features which enable buyers to enlist the support of friends and relatives to boost their deposit or increase the amount they can borrow.

Thanks to the partnership between Vistry East Midlands and the lender, people looking to buy a house at Linden Homes and Bovis Homes developments in the region will now be able to use a Generation Home mortgage to do so.

Nic Chapman, sales and marketing director for Vistry East Midlands, said: “House prices in the UK increased by 13.2 per cent in the year to June, the highest annual growth since 2004. While this is good news for homeowners and a clear sign of the strength of the housing market, it does create challenges for those seeking to get onto the property ladder. The Government’s Help to Buy scheme has played a pivotal role in making home ownership more affordable and accessible for first-time buyers, and many of our customers have benefited from using the scheme since it was introduced in 2013. Generation Home offers an excellent alternative for those who would struggle to secure the mortgage they need without assistance from friends or family. First-time buyers are the lifeblood of the housing market, and we are keen to support initiatives which will help more people realise their dream of owning their own home. Making these products available now will also allow our customers to purchase their home much quicker.”

Help to Buy is a Government-backed initiative that enables first-time buyers to put down a smaller deposit of just five per cent alongside a 75 per cent mortgage. This is supported by a 20 per cent equity loan from the Government, which is interest free for the first five years.

Generation Home provides an alternative range of options to make getting onto the property ladder more affordable.

With the Deposit Booster option, buyers can add a friend or relative onto the mortgage application to increase their household income and therefore enable theto borrow more.

The Income Booster option means that buyers can receive a boost on their initial deposit from a friend or family member, who will then own a share of the property equal to their contribution.

Jason Blunden, managing director of Evolve Financial Solutions, the recommended independent financial advisor for Vistry East Midlands, said: “This new mortgage product offered by Generation Home is a different way of using the bank of mum and dad. Most mortgage lenders offer four and a half times income, and some go to five when working out affordability. Sometimes that is not enough and increasing house prices have priced a lot of young people out of the housing market. Help To Buy has given the market a boost and helped many home buyers purchase their own home, but we need other options, and Generation Home offers greater variety and flexibility in addition to being available to second-time buyers too. Generation Home is changing the face of the lending market, allowing friends and family members to join a mortgage and assist with the deposit in a way that most other banks cannot, or do not, do.”