Help For First Time Buyers

Many of Mr Pretty's suggestions have subsequently been taken up.  Yet work remains to be undertaken, including new and more direct funding initiatives to help first time buyers and key workers. However schemes such as the First Time Buyer Initiative (FTBI), managed for the Government by the Homes and Communities Agency, have made inroads to helping people buy who had previously been unable to afford to.

Introduced in January 2005 the FTBI aims to give more people the opportunity to own their own homes by increasing the supply of affordable housing for sale.

The FTBI allows buyers to purchase a minimum 50 per cent equity share in the property and use cash from a fund for the remainder of the property's value. The homeowner then pays a rent on the remaining equity but is given the opportunity to increase their share, as and when their income increases.

Key Benefit of First Time Buyer Initiative

The key benefit of FTBI, over shared ownership schemes offered by many housing associations, is that there is no rent to pay for the first 3 years. The FTBI aims to assist 120,000 people onto the housing ladder.  Today, many private sector housebuilders, as well as social housebuilders and landlords participate in FTBI schemes.