Britannia pulls the rug on first-time buyers
Britannia Building Society, which recently merged with the Co-operative Bank, has pulled the rug from under first-time buyers in the UK with an announcement that deals requiring a deposit of 10% or less are being withdrawn from their portfolio. The 10% deposit mortgage is the most popular with first-time buyers who are obviously struggling to get onto the property ladder and may well be short of cash. So where does this leave first-time buyers?
Slowly but surely more and more mortgage companies in the UK are withdrawing mortgage arrangements which were aimed at the first-time buyer market. When you also consider that the first-time buyer is literally the bread-and-butter and the food of the UK property sector, this is a vital area of business to lose. A lack of competition for the business of first-time buyers will obviously have an impact on rates and we could see an increase in this particular area.
Despite the fact that the UK government and UK regulators had promised to help first-time buyers in the past, more and more couples and individuals are being stretched to the limit just to get their foot on the property ladder. As the vast majority of UK banks are now reducing their "riskier" investments, it would appear that first-time buyers are top of the list.
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