• Stamp Duty holiday to end soon

  January 26, 2012

  Happy New Year!  A little belated, but hope you all enjoyed the Christmas and New Year break.  

  Lots going on here at Plumlife, as always.  FirstBuy, the new equity loan scheme introduced by the government last autumn, is gaining momentum fast, and we’re getting lots of enquiries about it. Take-up is already looking excellent, and sales are going through thick and fast.

  We’re also busy trying to spread the word to first time buyers that they should take advantage of HomeBuy schemes before the Stamp Duty holiday is scrapped at the end of March 2012. 

  The Stamp Duty holiday is still available to first time buyers on all homes valued at under £250,000, but will be re-instated at a rate of 1% from 24 March.  On a £250,000 home,  that equates to a further £2,500 for the buyer to find, which when added to the other costs on top – deposit, legal fees etc – is no mean sum. 

  For those struggling to navigate the complex mortgage market, we’re now working with a new panel of independent financial advisers (IFA), offering a far more region-specific approach.  We also have a new Polish and Eastern European-speaking IFA on the panel.  As always, mortgage advice is impartial, no-nonsense and FREE. 

  For more info on all low cost home ownership schemes in Greater Manchester, Lancashire and South Yorkshire, contact Plumlife on 0161 447 5151 or visit the website: www.plumlife.co.uk

   

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• Government help for first time buyers to be welcomed

  December 08, 2011

  The plans announced by the Prime Minister to help re-ignite the flailing property market offer assitstance to both house builders and first time buyers.  

  At the heart of the strategy is a “new-build indemnity scheme” (sorry for the housing jargon, but that’s its working title).  It’ll be available to up to 100,000 prospective buyers nationwide who are currently frozen out of the housing market because of the need for large deposits.   

  Under the proposals, homebuyers will be able to get loans on new-build homes with only a five percent deposit.  To protect mortgage lenders, the government and house builders will provide security for the loan to minimise losses in the event of repossession or negative equity scenarios.  The scheme will kick off next spring.

  We’re waiting on the details of how this new initiative will work, and we don’t yet know how many developers in our region will be awarded funding, but in principle, we’re pleased the government is taking positive steps to help first time buyers.

  The on-going issue of lenders needing large deposits is a huge barrier for many potential buyers, so any initiative which helps people over-come this barrier is a positive thing for the housing market.  But as always – resources are limited.  We’ll keep you posted!

  For more info on all low cost home ownership schemes in Greater Manchester, Lancashire and South Yorkshire, contact Plumlife on 0161 447 5151 or visit the website: www.plumlife.co.uk

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• We're still on the road but now indoors!

  November 18, 2011

  As always, it’s been pretty hectic here at Plumlife , as lots of people want to get their home purchase or rental lease sorted before Christmas. 

  So what’s new?  Well, our spangly new pop-up exhibition stand for one!  We aren’t going soft in our old age, but we think we’ve had enough standing under umbrellas in the wind and rain while explaining the virtues of affordable home ownership schemes.

  No, we’ve moved indoors to spread our mantra, and our first stop was Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield on Sat 5 November.  (Pictured below). 

  We had a brilliant day, met load of keen first time buyers in South Yorkshire, and several sales reservations were taken as a result.  We were joined by developers Barratt Homes, Taylor Wimpey, Westleigh and Ben Bailey.

  FirstBuy, the new scheme which offers eligible first time buyers an equity loan of up to 20%, is proving a big hit.  Since its launch in July this year, received over 800 applications – a very promising start. 

  We’ve so far taken nearly 174 reservations, and already have 33 completions under our belts.  Thanks to all our partners – developers, IFA’s and solicitors – for helping us to make it happen.

  For more info on all low cost home ownership schemes in Greater Manchester, Lancashire and South Yorkshire, contact Plumlife on 0161 447 5151 or visit the website: www.plumlife.co.uk

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• FirstBuy proves a hit with would-be home owners

  September 29, 2011

  Well, it looks like our big push over the Summer to promote the HCA’s new FirstBuy scheme is paying off. Since August, we’ve received over 400 First Buy applications!   

  As I said in my last blog, we’ve been “on tour” again with our affordable homes road show, principally to spread the word about FirstBuy, but also to remind people about the other schemes out there to help people get on to the property ladder.  Shared Ownership is still as popular as ever, but it’s an on-going job explaining how the scheme works and who can apply.

  So we went to Manchester and Wigan in September, and are about to pitch up in Rochdale (this Saturday 2 Oct) at The Butts (town centre), and in Bolton, (Victoria Square) on Sat Oct 22.  Many of the top house builders in both areas have got FirstBuy funding, so will be joining us for both events. 

  Then it’s South Yorkshire – but this time, we’re hoping to set up at Meadowhall shopping centre, which we hope will attract first time buyers from across the whole region.  Our road show trailer clearly won’t fit through the doors of Meadowhall, so we’re in the midst of designing a snazzy new pop-up exhibition stand from which to shamelessly promote all things HomeBuy related. 

  I’m told the stand will have to look quite posh to cut the mustard in these sorts of glossy shopping environments, so my idea of recycling and re-using some old office furniture for the event, whilst irrefutably cost-effective, has been politely given the thumbs down. 

  I’ll let you know when it’s happening and who’s going to be there nearer the time!

  Thanks again for reading my blog, and as always, details on all HomeBuy developments in Greater Manchester, Lancashire and South Yorkshire can be found at www.plumlife.co.uk

  Please feel free to drop me a line by email to: Matt@plumlife.co.uk

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• FirstBuy kicks off this month

  August 31, 2011

  Blog time again, and I’ve got a new strategy going forward.  Don’t mention how many weeks it’s been since my last post, and no one will notice.  I’ve been on holiday with the family for the last couple of weeks, and I’ve come back to the usual mountainous back-log of stuff that’s needs doing yesterday. Including this, so here goes.

  So what’s new?  Well, for anyone interested in the new FirstBuy scheme (an equity loan of up to 20% of the value of selected new homes) which kicks off this month, you can now see which developments are able to offer it.  All you have to do is click on to the Find a Home section on the Plumlife website Homepage, and select FirstBuy on the scheme type option. 

  There are some really great-looking new developments in the offing, and for anyone looking to buy a home in South Yorkshire – Barnsley’s been awarded a massive allocation.

  There was a piece in the Times a few weeks ago that Barnsley is “on the up” in a list of the UK’s top “bohemian towns”.  It didn’t make it in to the top ten unfortunately, but was apparently one to look out for.  Not sure about the bohemian credentials, but I can vouch for the town’s now excellent supply of FirstBuy homes.   I used to work there a long time ago. Lovely town and great people.    

  We’re going to be shouting about the new scheme as much as we can in the early autumn, letting people know what’s available and who’s eligible to apply.   

  We’re going on tour again with our affordable homes road show in September – dusting off the old promo-trailer and pitching up in the middle of cities and towns all over Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire and Lancashire. The first one’s happening in Manchester’s Exchange Square this Saturday 3 September, followed by Wigan on Saturday 10 Sept. See the story on our news page for details 

  Thanks again for reading my blog, and as always, details on all HomeBuy developments in Greater Manchester, Lancashire and South Yorkshire can be found at www.plumlife.co.uk

  Please feel free to drop me a line by email to: Matt@plumlife.co.uk

  Full story

• Look out for FirstBuy!

  July 07, 2011

  It’s blog time again, and I really think I’m getting in to the swing of things now.  It’s still not weekly, as originally planned – more like fortnightly but that’s not bad. The Harrogate housing conference ripped a hole in my schedule the other week. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!

  I told you in my last blog that HomeBuy Direct is coming to an end at the end of March 2012 but is being replaced by a very similar new scheme called FirstBuy HomeBuy.  It’s a slightly less generous loan of up to 20% - but nevertheless, it’s tipped to help around 10,500 first time buyers in the UK get on the property ladder.

  We’ve now found out which developments have been successful in their bids to offer FirstBuy HomeBuy, and we’ve not done badly.  Lancashire, Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire have been allocated around 10% of the total UK budget, which constitutes a total of 157 sites across 33 local authority areas. Major players will include Barratt Homes, Bovis Homes, Persimmon Homes, Redrow, Countryside and Bardsley Construction

  As soon as all the legalities and contracts are signed and sealed – we’ll upload all the details on the site. Bear with us! 

  There’s loads of other stuff happening as well…new shared ownership homes in the Ribble Valley and Bury,  to name a couple.  You’ll find all the info on the website. 

  Thanks again for reading my blog, and as always, details on all HomeBuy developments in Greater Manchester, Lancashire and South Yorkshire on the website.

  Please feel free to drop me a line by email to: Matt@plumlife.co.uk

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• Still help out there for would-be home owners

  June 13, 2011

  First of all, sorry for the lapse in blog comms.  What with bank holidays, half term etc, a slight lapse has occurred. Royal Wedding fever has finally also come to an end - the bunting’s come down and the street parties are over!  Now can we all get on with talking about my favourite subject?  Channel 5’s Extreme Fishing presented by Robson Green…ahem, I mean affordable housing.     

  So what are the issues currently affecting people hoping to buy their first home?  Well according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, there’s been a slight increase in mortgage lending in recent months to first time buyers, in fact, they account for the majority of sales.  Encouraging news but a lot more needs to be done. 

  There was a bit of a panic going on in the industry a couple of months ago about the likely demise of HomeBuy Direct – a really successful government-backed shared equity loan scheme which basically allowed first time buyers to take out an interest-free equity loan of up to 30% of the value of selected new homes.   The loan was shared between the Homes & Communities Agency and developers.

  Well, there’s good and bad news:  the bad news is that HomeBuy Direct is definitely coming to an end at the end of March 2012.  The good news is that it’s being replaced by a very similar new scheme called FirstBuy HomeBuy.  The deal on the table is slightly less generous – the maximum loan is 20% - but it’s basically a similar scheme. 

  We’re about to find out which developments across the north west and South Yorkshire  have been successful in their bids to offer FirstBuy HomeBuy, and we’ll share the news as soon as we can.  All the big house builders are in the running again, and we’re excited about working with them to spread the word and make it all happen.

  That’s it for now – I’m told that “short” and “sweet” best describe the seasoned blogger’s approach!

  Thanks again for reading my blog, and as always, details on all HomeBuy developments in Greater Manchester, Lancashire and South Yorkshire can be found at www.plumlife.co.uk

  Please feel free to drop me a line by email to: Matt@plumlife.co.uk

  Full story

• Our new development in Sheffield has the "wow" factor!

  May 05, 2011

  Well, the multiple bank holidays have come to an end and the party’s well and truly over... it’s back to work!  Hope most of you got to take a decent break over Easter and enjoyed the unseasonal, but brilliant weather – fingers crossed for more barbecue opportunities.

  I’ve got a great excuse to pop over to my old home city of Sheffield this week, as our affordable homes development in Parson Cross is nearly ready.  It’s called Larkin Grove, and we’re making some of the homes available for shared ownership sale.  Our snazzy show home is ready for opening this Friday and Saturday so I’m keen to see how it looks.

  I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to describe these new homes as iconic-looking. The design is unique.  Even the site manager told us he’d never before worked on a project like it, and he’s been in the business 20 years! 

  The homes were designed by progressive architects, Fashion Architecture Taste, and have been built following consultation with local residents and Sheffield City Council.  The patterned brickwork and elaborate wooden window surrounds and are really worth seeing. This development features really great energy-saving features including solar panels - great for the environment and even better for keeping utility bills down. 

  If you’re interested – we’ll be throwing a little show home “soiree” tomorrow and Saturday (May 6/7 May)  – all welcome!  Doors open at 11am and close at 4pm.  You can find out all about shared ownership at Larkin Grove, and we may even offer you a free drink!

  Thanks for reading my blog, and as always, details on all HomeBuy developments in Greater Manchester, Lancashire and South Yorkshire can be found at www.plumlife.co.uk

  Please feel free to drop me a line by email to: Matt@plumlife.co.uk

  Full story

• Number-crunching and Billy Bragg!

  April 17, 2011

  We've recently come to the end of the financial year and we’ve been studiously number-crunching...working out how we’ve performed during the period 1 April last year to 31 March 2011. 

  What it all boils down is the number of people who’ve applied for HomeBuy schemes that we’ve actually been able to help out. 

  As many of you know, we don’t just build and sell our own affordable homes.  Plumlife is also the government-appointed HomeBuy Agency for Greater Manchester, Lancashire and South Yorkshire. That means we process ALL HomeBuy applications in these areas – checking eligibility, working out what each applicant can consider as a viable buying option, putting people in touch with impartial mortgage advisers, and generally making the process as easy and smooth as possible.

  Among the stats available are the figures on the HomeBuy Direct equity loan scheme - a total 720 sales were completed in our regions.  That’s 720 first time buyers who wouldn’t have been able to buy their own home without government help. We’ve also processed literally thousands of Shared Ownership and Rent To Buy applications.

  General highlights of the year include:

  • We launched our very own Plumlife YouTube channel last summer, which has to date attracted over 1200 YouTube views.  Backing music, by the way, was kindly produced by our very own communications officer, Ryan Devlin!

  • The website was also refreshed, and I’m told that we received a total of 126,743 visits. 

  • The team picked up a total of 36,635 HomeBuy related phone enquiries last financial year, 99% of which were answered within 15 seconds! 

  Well, that’s it for this week, I think.  I’m signing off for a few days’ break, and I think I need them. The proof is that I had tickets to go and see the Bard of Barking, Billy Bragg, the other night, and actually forgot to go because I was working.  I’ve not seen him for 20 years, so maybe I was saved the disappointment of not hearing any of the stuff I know from long-gone student days.  All the same, not the best use of £35!

  Thanks for reading my blog, and as always, details on all HomeBuy developments in Greater Manchester, Lancashire and South Yorkshire can be found at www.plumlife.co.uk

  Please feel free to drop me a line by email to: Matt@plumlife.co.uk

  Full story

• My supporting actor role is to be broadcast on the BBC!

  April 01, 2011

  Well, I’m getting into the swing of these weekly blogs, and delighted to report that a few of you are actually reading them as well, which is a bonus!  Thanks for checking in, and also for your feedback on my recent posts.

  There’s been a lot happening this week at Plumlife. The deadline for many HomeBuy Direct developments is today, so we’ve been busily rushing through last minute applications.  We’ll be shouting about the new developments on offer from today until end March 2012 on this website over the coming weeks and months. 

  Rent To HomeBuy requests are also coming in thick and fast. This scheme is basically a “try before you buy” rent option, offering people the chance to live in a brand new home at a discounted rent.  The idea is that it gives you a chance to save up for that all important deposit over a five year period.  There’s no obligation to buy at the end of the rental period – but you get first refusal to do so if you want / can afford to.

  On a personal front, I made my BBC TV debut on Wednesday!  I know it’s April Fool’s Day – but this is not a joke. We were lucky enough to be invited to contribute to the debate about affordable home-building in rural areas (always controversial), sparked by a recent (failed) application by the Co-op to develop land in rural Lancashire. It was for BBC1’s The Politics Show, which goes out this Sunday at Midday.

  Luckily, it wasn’t live, which means that hopefully it will be cleverly edited to make me look like a seasoned broadcasting housing pundit!  But mine really was a supporting role, the real star of the show was actually Janet, our shared ownership buyer from the Ribble Valley.  I’m told she spoke really eloquently about the many pros of shared ownership, and I’m seriously thinking of offering her a job in our sales team! 

  To find out more about affordable homes in your area, go to www.plumlife.co.uk. 

  As always, I’m keen to hear from you, so please feel free to drop me a line by email to: Matt@plumlife.co.uk

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