FIRST TIME buyers and those who cannot afford a house on the open market are being encouraged to seek support from the Isle of Anglesey County Council, through its Anglesey Home Buy Scheme.
In recent years, Anglesey has seen soaring property prices which have been up to eight times average salaries coupled with higher mortgage rates, impacting people’s ability to buy their own homes.
Welsh local authorities were given powers to introduce an extra Council Tax charge on dwellings occupied periodically – second homes or long-term empty properties – on 1 April 2017.
Anglesey Council is using funding secured through the second home Council Tax premium for the Anglesey Homebuy Scheme and giving local residents an opportunity to get on the property ladder.
The Anglesey Homebuy Scheme can provide extra support in the form of an equity loan to purchase a property. So far, the scheme has helped nine people to buy their own home.
The Anglesey Homebuy Scheme is available to:
- local first-time buyers who are unable to buy a home without financial assistance
- those who may have previously owned a property but are not currently a homeowner
- existing shared equity property owners who need a more suitable home
Anglesey’s Finance and Housing portfolio holder, Councillor Robin Williams, said, “The housing crisis and its effect on local residents’ ability to afford to live on the island is still one of the biggest concerns we hear about when talking to people in our communities.”
“Anglesey has introduced numerous schemes to counter this issue locally. As well as building many new council homes, we’re creating homes for more families by buying back former council-owned properties and bringing many long-term empty homes back into use.”
He added, “Using the revenue collected from Council Tax premiums on long-term-empty properties and second homes also allows us to offer exciting incentives like the Anglesey Homebuy Scheme.”
The scheme would see Anglesey Council providing an applicant – unable to gain a sufficient mortgage to buy a home on the open market – with an equity loan enabling them to buy a home without having to fund its entire cost. The house would then be a shared equity property with the Council.
Applicants would need to have at least 5% deposit to access the scheme. If or when the property is sold, or should the owner voluntarily decide to repay the equity loan the owner would repay the Council based on the equity share percentage value at the time of any future sale or voluntarily repayment of the loan.
Council Leader, Cllr Gary Pritchard, added, “Ensuring that everyone has somewhere to call home was a key pledge in Plaid Cymru’s manifesto for the County Council elections and is a fundamental part of the Council’s vision and Strategy for Anglesey.
“Our Housing service, which has a statutory responsibility to assess housing need, is leading on partnership working to provide quality housing.”
“We remain committed to meeting local housing needs and supporting local people to live in affordable quality homes in their own communities.”
Further information about the Anglesey Homebuy Scheme and a copy of Isle of Anglesey County Council’s Shared Equity Policy is available is available on the Anglesey County Council website.
