Brits set to stay put as lenders withdraw first-time buyer mortgages

02 July 2008

A growing number of Britons are likely to remain in rental accommodation for the time being after the final 100 per cent mortgage was withdrawn from the market.

Experts had pointed to the product offered by the Bank of Ireland's through a number of lenders including the Bristol & West building society, as the ideal means for prospective first-time buyers to make the step up onto the property ladder.

However, as Louise Cuming, head of mortgages at moneysupermarket.com, has explained, this latest move has "virtually shut the door on anyone buying a house with a deposit of five per cent or less".

"Anyone looking to get on the property ladder now needs a hefty deposit," she stated.

The comments come just days after Kirsty Allsop threw her weight behind calls from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, for the current laws concerning stamp duty to be changed to give people the chance to buy their first home.

Given that the government is unlikely to make such a move anytime soon, particularly after it only recently had to climb down on its 10p tax proposals, many people are likely to turn to secure storage as they remain in their existing rental properties.


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