Joint mortgage option for first-time buyers

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by Kay Murchie

A new website has been launched called SmartSharedHomes.co.uk which offers a solution for potential first-time buyers looking to purchase their first home but are restricted financially.

With rising property prices and increases in stamp duty and interest rates, affordability has been an issue for many first-time buyers over the last few years.

The new website, which is a spin-off of the SmartNewHomes.co.uk site, is to reduce the barriers to securing a buyer their first property.

Potential buyers can create their own profile and make contact with other like-minded individuals, with the aim of purchasing a property together.

David Bexon, managing director of SmartNewHomes, said not everyone can rely on financial help from parents or has friends or family with which they can buy their first property.

With the average home costing over £150,000 for a first-time buyer, affordability is a problem, added Mr Bexon.

The SmartSharedHomes.com site has an increasing number of subscribers who can search for both potential buying partners and other properties on the site, making owning a home a reality for thousands of keen buyers, concluded Mr Bexon.

Recent figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) established that the number of new mortgages approved for homebuyers fell to 62,000 in the last three months of 2007.

The figure was 35% lower compared with the same period 12 months ago and the lowest level for 12 years sparking fresh concerns of the state of the property market.

A spokesperson for the CML said that lenders were facing the toughest period since the back end of the 1990s property crash, saying funding problems in the wake of the credit squeeze and a seasonal lull had hit at the same time.