A new mortgage scheme has been launched by Yorkshire Building Society, which could help first-time buyers get on the property ladder with just a £5,000 deposit.
This means that hopeful homeowners could borrow up to 99 per cent of the value of a property worth up to £500,000. For a typical first-time buyer property priced at £200,000, a £5,000 deposit would be 2.5 per cent of the purchase price, with the remaining 97.5 per cent borrowed as a mortgage.
The new mortgage is available directly from Yorkshire Building Society or through brokers via Accord Mortgages. Ben Merritt, the director of mortgages at Yorkshire, said research shows that £5,000 could significantly reduce the time it takes for first-time buyers to become mortgage-ready. Read more: 'I thought I could do a better job - so I quit and opened my own estate agency at 20 with no savings' He added that this could create a "level playing field for those who don't have financial support from their families to fall back on".
The deal, which is only available to first-time buyers, offers a five-year fixed-rate mortgage at 5.99 per cent. Borrowers must be under 70 years old at the end of the mortgage term.
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