Flatmate Mortgages a way forward for first-time buyers

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by Gill Montia

Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) have prompted easyroommate.co.uk to suggest a remedy for prospective first-time buyers locked out of the property market.

The flatshare and rooms to rent portal points out that lending to first-time buyers was still “pitifully low” in February, with just half the numbers of loans made, compared with same month of 2007.

Easyroommate director, Jonathan Moore, says: “Wannabe buyers simply haven’t got the ready cash to stump up for the colossal deposits lenders still require.”

Mr Moore is therefore urging lenders to begin offering “Flatmate Mortgages”, which would take flatmate income into account for new mortgages and allow the average first-time buyer to access an extra £11,000.

According to the CML, the UK’s mortgage market staged a modest recovery in February, with number of loans advanced for house purchases increasing by 12% on January.

Of the 35,000 mortgages advanced, first-time buyers accounted for 12,600, and the average proportion of their income spent on interest payments held steady on a month earlier, at 13.3%.