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Mortgage Broker Q&A; can you buy a home without a deposit?

Author: Andy Bedford » Publish Date: 29 June 2009

A big question for many first-time buyers is whether it is possible to buy a property without a deposit; in the absence of 100% mortgage products.

One way is the government’s Home Buy Direct shared-equity scheme, which allows customers to buy a house for 70% or more of its value.

The property developer makes a loan for the remainder on an interest-free basis which reverts to a low rate, such as 1.75%, after several years.

Some property developers involved in the scheme offer purchases without a deposit.

The scheme operator is repaid by “staircasing” (the owner buying a bigger share later on); or on the sale of the property, in which case they will take their percentage of the sale value.

Housing associations also run similar schemes known as “shared ownership”, where you purchase between 25-75% of a property and pay a nominal rent on the remainder; however, these may require a small deposit. Broadly both schemes are similar.

To find out more, search for Home Buy Direct on Google or for housing associations in your area.

One way that won’t usually work is the vendor reducing the sale price. Known as a vendor’s deposit, this is very unlikely to be accepted (in the present climate of declining property prices).

So pretty much all lenders will take the lesser figure for the valuation, leaving you back at square one.

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