According to a survey, 32% of those looking to buy a house within the next 12 months called phase one of the Help to Buy Scheme ‘a glorified loan’.
www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk decided to conduct the poll after noting an increase in searches for the term ‘help to buy’ on its website.
When asked how they felt about the Help to Buy concept on the whole, 71% claimed to find it ‘confusing’, while 24% said they were ‘disappointed’ with the Help to Buy offering.
Those who said they were disappointed were asked to elaborate and explain why. 32% said that phase one of Help to Buy sounded like a ‘glorified loan’, whilst 55% said that phase two sounded like it wouldn’t last long enough and 66% said that the rates weren’t as low as they were expecting.
But, when asked if they planned to use Help to Buy, 19% said a definite ‘yes’.
Despite all respondents taking part saying that they planned to buy a house within the next 12 months, 62% felt that it would probably take longer than that. When asked why, 70% said that they would need ‘more time to save’.
George Charles, spokesperson for VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, said:
“Help to Buy is, in principal, a great idea. However, phase one essentially leaves the homebuyer owing money to their mortgage provider and the government and if they don’t pay the amount back in the first five years then plenty of interest will get whacked on.
“Phase two definitely sounds like the better option, because the agreement is largely between the lender and the government and there seems to be less risk. I’m not surprised that so many first-time buyers are finding Help to Buy confusing however, because there is quite a lot to get your head around.”
