July 29, 2014 10.06 am This story is over 116 months old

Lincoln mortgage help scheme gets £1m, but no lender yet

Lend a hand: The City of Lincoln Council have set aside £1 million to extend a mortgage help scheme, but no lender has come forward yet.

The City of Lincoln Council has committed a further £1 million to extend its Local Lend a Hand Mortgage Scheme for first time buyers — but until a lender comes forward the scheme will not relaunch.

Executive councillors approved a further £1 million investment into the scheme on July 28.

The scheme, which has helped 44 people to take the first step onto the property ladder since its launch in March 2012, was previously run with Lloyds TSB.

Successful applicants only needed a 5% deposit. The council then guaranteed a further 20%, giving them a lower mortgage rate.

Council Leader Ric Metcalfe said: “We are extremely pleased with the success of the scheme, especially as we exceeded our target of supporting 38 house-buyers.

“Unfortunately, there are currently no lenders willing to take part in the scheme due to the government’s Help to Buy initiative, which offers similar advantages.

“However, the local authority scheme offers the most favourable interest rates on mortgages and we are hopeful we may be able to relaunch the scheme in the future.

“This scheme has been a real help to people who could afford a mortgage but were struggling to save a big enough deposit to buy a house.”