A ‘DIY Help to Buy scheme’ meant we got our £466,000 first home – it was a lifeline
PARENTS Chae and Cem were able to boost their deposit with a "DIY Help to Buy scheme" to help them bag their £466,000 first home.
Chae Sarjant, 28, who works in Pets at Home, and her partner Cem, an IT consultant for the NHS, were desperate to find a place to settle with their sons Kayden, five, and one-year-old Mason.
After stumbling across the ideal two-bedroom home for sale just a five-minute walk away from Chae's mum in East Finchley, London, the pair set their sights on home ownership.
But the couple knew they wouldn't be able to afford the property without a helping hand.
That's when they found out about the Deposit Booster scheme from lender Generation Home.
The scheme allows any number of friends or family to put money towards a borrower's savings.
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Usually, mortgage lenders want money from family towards a deposit to be officially declared as a gift.
It comes as research from Legal and General revealed that many aspiring homeowners are being forced to depend on financial gifts from relatives to get on the housing ladder.
But Generation Home instead provides a binding agreement that allows parties to either gift, provide an interest-free loan, or give an equity loan.
Co-founder Sophia Guy-White previously described the scheme as a “DIY Help to Buy” scheme.
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But unlike the government scheme, hopeful homeowners aren't limited to new-builds and can previously have owned a property.
Chae and Cem got £85,000 from their parents to go towards their £100,000 deposit.
They have agreed to return all the cash to Chae's parents once they sell the property.
Getting financial help from family, even in the form of a loan, isn't possible for everyone.
But don't worry, as there are other schemes out there to help first-time buyers boost their deposit.
The First Homes scheme allows buyers to bag a home for between 30% and 50% less than its market value through the government's First Homes scheme.
You can buy a new-build home from a developer or a property from someone who's used the scheme before and is now selling.
The First Homes scheme is only available in England and to qualify, you have to be 18 or older and a first-time buyer.
You can also buy a home through the shared ownership scheme if you can't afford all of the deposit and mortgage payments for a home that meets your needs.
You buy a share of the property and pay rent to a landlord on the rest.
England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales all have slightly different rules, so check the details carefully.
The Sun has put together a handy guide to first-time buyer schemes that could help you get on the property ladder.
Chae and Cem get the keys to their first home in April 2022.
We sat down with Chae to find out how the couple went from being savers to homeowners for The Sun's My First Home series.
Tell me about your home
It's a two-bedroom maisonette in East Finchley with a back garden and a driveway.
We have an open-plan kitchen and living room and a separate utility room.
There's a family bathroom, the master bedroom and my son's room.
How did you decide on that location?
I grew up in the area and we really wanted to stay close to family.
My mum lives a minute's walk away and we literally saw the property for sale one day when walking in the local area.
It was just perfect so we decided to go for it.
How much was it?
Our house was £465,999.
We put down a 21% deposit of around £100,000.
We took out a mortgage of £365,999 over 30 years at a fixed rate of 3.7% for five years.
Our repayments are £1,250 a month.
How did you save for it?
I saved £15,000 in a Help to Buy Isa which I put towards our deposit.
I opened the account when I was 16 and started my first job working at Sainsbury's.
Instead of paying rent to my mum, I would add the maximum of £200 a month into the Help to Buy Isa.
This slowly built up over the years and I got so used to adding the cash to my account that I didn't even notice I was doing it.
But as soon as Cem and I moved into our rented property, money was quite tight so I wasn't able to add anything to the Isa.
We were paying £1,200 in rent at the time, and after bills, we had little cash left to put into savings.
So I was really pleased that I had been disciplined with adding cash to the Isa when I was living at home because it meant we had a nest egg.
Unfortunately, we missed out on the 25% bonus, which would have been worth £3,000, because our house cost more than £450,000.
While this was a bit disappointing, I still think it worked for me as a means of savings because I was able to add little and often.
We could only afford to buy our home because we took out a mortgage with Generation H and took advantage of their deposit booster scheme.
It means friends and family can put money towards the deposit without it having to be officially declared as a gift.
My parents gave us an £85,000 loan towards our home to boost our deposit.
We created an agreement with my parents and Generation H to repay the money when we sell our home.
So while they have given us the money, rather than it being a gift that we don't repay, it's more like an interest-free loan.
But we still understand that we were very unfortunate to be in a position where my parents could do this for us and we are very grateful.
It was a lifeline for us - there's no way we would have been able to afford a home without it.
How did you afford to furnish it?
We had a lot of furniture from our rented property that we brought with us to our new home.
I did manage to pick up some bargains in the local charity shops too, including on some rugs and an armchair.
The best deal of the bunch was a brand-new rug that I picked up for £15, when it would have retailed for around £60.
Do you have any advice for other first-time buyers?
If you are living at home, try to save as much money as you can because it becomes a lot harder once you start renting.
We couldn't afford to save anything, so the fact I had built up a nest egg from the time I was living with my mum was a huge help.
Of course, it isn't an option for everyone, but it's something to consider if you are able to.
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Meanwhile, one first-time buyer managed to save a £7,000 deposit for his £150,000 home using a work savings scheme.
Plus, one couple lost £6,000 in free cash due to an unfair Isa rule.
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