Stirling couple Emma Irvine and Christopher Kerr have just moved into their new home after becoming the first people to purchase a property in the area through the Scottish Government's LIFT (Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers) scheme.
Emma, a nursery supervisor and her fiancé Christopher, a landscape gardener at Stirling Castle, heard about LIFT through their mortgage advisor and applied to Link Homes, part of the Link group, which administers the scheme locally.
LIFT helps more people on low incomes get a foot on the ladder in property hotspots by allowing them to buy a home on the open market with the help of a housing association. The buyer pays a majority share in a property through borrowing - normally between 60 and 80 per cent of the price - with the housing association, in this instance Link, funding the balance.
After the couple's application was accepted, they put in a successful offer on a house in Maitland Avenue, Bannockburn, and moved in on 4 July.
Emma said: "We had originally been looking at one bedroom flats but we ended up being able to buy a two bedroom house with a garden, which we're both really happy with.
"I would definitely say to other people that LIFT is worth looking into, because it has worked for us."
Craig Sanderson, Chief Executive of Link Group said: "In areas where rising house prices makes home ownership unattainable for many, LIFT is providing a solution. We wish Emma and Christopher every happiness in their new house."
Communities Minister Stewart Maxwell said: "I am delighted that the Scottish Government's commitment to increasing its support for LIFT is helping families like this one to get on to the housing ladder. I am also pleased to see that the number of sales through the Open Market Shared Equity Pilot is increasing all the time.
"Our shared equity schemes have an increasingly important role to play, both in helping those who want to buy to do so, and also in helping to underpin confidence in the housing market during difficult times."
Page last updated on Monday, 28 July 2008
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