Housing Ladder UK sets sights on Blackpool scheme
DEVELOPER Housing Ladder UK is preparing to start on 44 two and three-bed homes in Blackpool in the new year.
The Macclesfield firm bought the site from PwC in its capacity as administrator of Chorley-based Chelford Properties.
Housing Ladder targets people on lower incomes and is offering potential buyers the chance to rent for two years with the rent saved as a deposit towards an outright purchase – with the price fixed at the point when they move in.
Blackpool Council has agreed to back the investment by underwriting the rent for the first two years.
Managing director David Sleath said: “Those earning between £14,000 a year and £30-£35,000 fall into the intermediate affordable housing sector and many people in this income bracket struggle to get a mortgage to buy a home suitable for their requirements either because they struggle to save the necessary deposit or quite simply, house prices are out of reach.
“Even Help to Buy, which is a fantastic initiative, still means you have to get that 5% yourselves. Now maybe it doesn’t look so much at £7-8,000, but if you’re a university student coming out with a debt hanging round your neck, it will still take some saving.”
He added: “If the only thing standing in their way is getting the deposit together, then what we will do is work to help them save it. If the house is one they want, and ultimately to buy, we need a decision in principle from a mortgage provider, and a reservation fee of £2,000 guarantees the price of the house for two years, so no matter what happens to the market, they’ll know exactly what they will be paying.
“They can then rent the property from us for two years and exercise their option to buy at the end of that time. But we’re also trying to take away the negatives associated with renting in terms of it being ‘dead’ money.”
