The government is failing to properly publicise and provide assistance with its HomeBuy Direct scheme, it has been claimed.
More potential property owners could be helped by the government's HomeBuy Direct scheme if it was sold better, according to the managing director of a property advice site.
HomeBuy Direct was introduced to try to help first-time buyers struggling to get a mortgage. New properties which have been brought forward by housebuilders will be available to purchasers, who will be offered a loan valued up to 30 percent of the house price. This loan will come from the government and the developer.
The government has announced that £400 million will be invested in the project, in order to help 18,000 people. Qualification is subject to the same rules as other HomeBuy offerings, namely for households on less than £60,000 a year who are unable to buy in their local area without assistance.
But Helen Adams from FirstRungNow.com said that, while the HomeBuy options could be used by many, "they are not very widely publicised, and then they are complicated as well". Currently, interested parties "can only get to see a level of detail when a first-time buyer actually speaks to their local HomeBuy Agent".
She concluded: "[The government needs] to put out more information about the fact that there are these schemes available. They need to do more on that front."
