The Suffolk Home Ownership for Long term Disabilities (HOLD) scheme has been launched by Ipswich Building Society and Suffolk County Council in conjunction with Saffron Housing Trust and Orwell Housing Association, which will allow vulnerable adults across Suffolk the opportunity to purchase their own home.
The mortgage is available up to 100% LTV and tracks the rate set for the Support for Mortgage Interest Scheme for the life of the loan which stands at 3.63%.
Orwell Housing Association and Saffron Housing Trust are building the homes and will retain a 50% stake in every property.
Suffolk County Council’s will identify those suitable for the scheme, and it will also provide an underpinning guarantee.
The first people to benefit from the Suffolk HOLD scheme will be adults with learning disabilities.
Paul Winter, chief executive of Ipswich Building Society, said: “We firmly believe that everybody should have the right to own their own home no matter the circumstances, and this scheme is a great example of how local organisations can come together to support a vulnerable part of society.”
Councillor Colin Noble, Suffolk County Council’s portfolio holder for adult and community services, added: “Getting onto the housing ladder is hard enough without having a lifelong disability, so to be able to offer increased independence to those who would normally struggle to purchase their own home, really is something spectacular.”
The scheme will be supported by an independent deputy who will be assigned to make sure that the individual applicant’s best interests have been fully assessed in the decision to purchase her or his home.
The deputy can then sign the mortgage contract on behalf of those individuals who may be unable to do so due to their disability.
