Specialist lender Together is allocating over £100m of funds for lending to council and housing association tenants who have the opportunity to buy their properties through the right-to-buy scheme.
The scheme, which originally applied specifically to council properties, has been extended to housing association tenants in a pilot programme spanning 23 local authorities, for tenants who have lived in the property for 10 years or more.
In addition, those in housing association properties that were transferred over from a council may have a ‘preserved’ right-to-buy, so there are various different options.
Together has identified a number of key regions, based on council and housing association stock, where it feels its products could benefit potential customers. These areas include London, Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield.
Pete Ball (pictured), chief executive of Together’s retail division, said: “The right-to-buy scheme gives council and some housing association tenants the chance of a lifetime; to buy their own home. The discounts available to tenants can be substantial, but aside from the huge benefit in terms of the long-term investment and potential gain, in many cases we’ve found that the loan repayments are actually less than the previous rent; making the customer immediately better off.
“We are specialists in this market and offer a range of products to suit different needs. We will look at funding properties that many lenders wouldn’t consider; such as high-rise flats, and we’ll also work with those who have a less-than-perfect credit history. This is very much our niche; providing a service for a market that is being underserved by other lenders, and adopting a common sense approach, whilst always ensuring our customers’ loans are affordable.”