Delays could scupper help-to-buy home bids
FIRST-TIME buyers could lose their dream homes – and thousands of pounds they have already spent on them – if the government does not extend its deadline for the Help To Buy scheme as Covid causes construction delays.
Three new properties being built at Fletcher Park in Monton have been reserved by couples using the equity loan scheme which is ending soon.
But work on these new builds, which cost close to £400,000 each, have been hit by delays due to staff on site falling ill or having to selfisolate, which means construction will now not be completed in time for the government’s deadline.
The current scheme, which provides buyers with a low-interest loan towards the deposit for their new homes, was due to come to an end in December.
However, in July, the deadline was extended by two months, requiring all new homes purchased through the scheme to be completed by February 28.
But since then, infection rates have risen all over the country, resulting in regional restrictions in Greater Manchester and two national lockdowns.
And the government’s own research, published in December, shows that the average ‘build-out’ time has increased by three to eight months due to Covid.
Greg Saunders, 31, and his partner David Leith, 36, reserved a property at the Fletcher Park development over the summer, but have now been told their new four-bedroom townhouse will not be completed before the deadline.
Greg said: “We’ve saved up through our twenties to get a deposit together and now we’re in our thirties and just about to get on the property ladder and simply because of Covid building delays, it’s being taken away from us.”
Ian Hoey, 34, and his fiancée Lorien Dullaghan, 32, were due to get married last summer, but the wedding was postponed because of
Covid. Ian said that if the Help To Buy deadline is not extended, they would not be able to afford to purchase the property before they get married.
When asked what would happen if they lost the loan, he said: “We’d probably choose not to buy.
“We’d need to save up for another period of time and continue renting.”