Equity-loan lender Ahauz partners with Promise Money

Ahauz describes itself as a private sector version of the Help to Buy scheme, with the added benefit of being available on existing properties rather than solely new builds.

Borrowers can take out an equity loan of up to 25 per cent of the property’s value through Ahauz, which supplements their existing deposit. The remainder of the sum needed for the purchase is then taken out through a traditional mortgage.

Ahauz said that it is steadily increasing its presence in the broker market since launching in September, with the Promise Money partnership a “big step” on that journey. It initially launched with four broker firms on board.

Karthik Srivats, co-founder of Ahauz, said the partnership would help open up home ownership to a wider audience. 

He continued: “We’re very much looking forward to working with them and seeing what can be achieved in a lending environment where we expect the popularity of equity loans to balloon over the next few years. This will only accelerate, of course, with the closure of the Help To Buy scheme”

Steve Walker, managing director of Promise Money, said the loans were proving to be incredibly popular because they filled a gap in the market for products that don’t just help first-time buyers.

He added: “The equity loans are not only beneficial for first time buyers, but also for banks and building societies as they can attract more first-time buyers without increasing their risk appetite. 

“Although private equity loans are currently not accepted by all the lenders, given the demand we have been seeing for such products, we expect most lenders to start accepting equity loans in the near future. Hopefully this will follow the footsteps of the Help to Buy scheme which started only with a few lenders but has now become widely accepted in the lender market.”

While Ahauz has not revealed precisely how many lenders offer mortgages alongside its loans, it has said that its partners include a couple of large building societies.