English Partnerships appoints MHO as national agent

May 07

Housing Options Plus, a partnership between regional HomeBuy Agents, Metropolitan Home Ownership and Tower Homes, has been selected by English Partnerships as the National HomeBuy Agent for its First Time Buyers’ Initiative (FTBI).

The appointment means Housing Options Plus will provide a one stop shop for all FTBI home owners after they have bought their new home, and will manage English Partnerships’ interest until the home owner ‘staircases’ into full ownership.

Under the FTBI, eligible buyers contribute a minimum 50 per cent towards the price of a new home through an affordable mortgage, with English Partnerships contributing the rest through a direct payment to the developer. First time buyers can then ‘staircase’ to reduce English Partnerships’ share, and after three years, will start to pay a fee to English Partnerships based on the contribution it made.

The appointment of Housing Options Plus, on 11 April, coincided with English Partnership’s announcement that it had identified 15 new housing developments to be awarded funding through the initiative, for a total of almost 600 new homes. 

The developments are the second tranche of up to 40 sites which English Partnerships hopes to identify this year. Together the sites will provide around 1,300 homes for first time buyers across the country and will contribute to helping 120,000 people into home ownership through the Government’s HomeBuy scheme by 2010.

Graeme Moran of Metropolitan Home Ownership and Steve Nunn of Tower Homes said: “We are delighted to have been selected to work with English Partnerships as National HomeBuy Agent. Our experience in marketing and managing low cost home ownership schemes across London and the south east means that we are well-equipped to provide similar services for purchasers of FTBI homes right across England.”