Low cost home ownership day
by Hammersmith and Fulham Press Office
24/07/2008
Hundreds of residents hoping to get a foot on the property ladder flocked to the council’s low cost home ownership day, last Saturday 19 July.
Staff from h&f Home Buy, the council’s one-stop-shop dedicated to getting local residents onto the housing ladder, gave expert advice on the range of ways local people can access low cost homes to buy.
The majority of properties available through h&f Home Buy are shared ownership schemes, meaning you part buy and part rent your home. Residents can buy as little as 25 per cent of a new home and build up the percentage they own over time, until they own it outright.
Councillor Lucy Ivimy, H&F Cabinet Member for Housing, says, “With high house prices and the credit crunch making mortgages harder to come by, buying your first home can be a distant dream for many Londoners.
“But, with events like this, and our innovative approach with h&f Home Buy, we are helping low and middle income earners to get that vital first step on the ladder.”
Visitors to Hammersmith town hall also had a chance to learn more about products from Housing associations like Bush Homes, Genesis and Places For People.
Hammersmith & Fulham has the fourth highest house prices in Britain pricing many hardworking families out of the market. The average house price in the capital for July was £358,500. In Hammersmith & Fulham this soars to £592,818. Experts say house prices in the city are now at least 10 times the average income, making it one of the most unaffordable areas in the world.
Cllr Ivimy continues: “It is a natural aspiration to want to own your own home. More than a half of all H&F residents rent – one of the highest figures in Britain. Huge amounts of cash is being thrown away to landlords and we are trying to turn this situation around.”
If you missed the low cost home ownership day, have a combined household income between £19,000 - £60,000, and would like to buy your own home you may be eligible.
Register your interest now by clicking on http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Directory/Housing/Home_ownership/homepage.asp or call 020 8753 6464.
