Government to build houses but can we make them affordable? Yes we can with Joint Equity

The Government is to directly commission the building of 10,000 new homes on public land as part of a “radical” new plan to build at a faster rate using smaller companies.

Prime Minister David Cameron described the move as a “huge shift”, claiming it marks the biggest use of such a policy since Margaret Thatcher and Michael Heseltine started the regeneration of London’s Docklands in the Eighties.

Rather than waiting for major construction firms to work their way through the government’s long list of housebuilding projects, the scheme will see smaller businesses take on less extensive sites that have already have planning permission.

The policy will be backed by an extra £1.2 billion to prepare brownfield sites for the building of 30,000 starter homes – available to first time buyers under 40 for at least a 20 per cent discount – over the next five years.

“This Government was elected to deliver security and opportunity – whatever stage of life you’re at. Nothing is more important to achieving that than ensuring hard-working people can buy affordable homes,” Mr Cameron said.

This is right and Joint Equity wholeheartedly agree no one should be forced to live in rented accommodation who deos not want to. And that is anyone from 18 to 80, we think a home of your home with absolute security to stay there as long as you want is a basic human right.

Our CEO Brad Bamfield has lived in rented accommodation and hated the insecurity, the interference of the agent and the different agenda of the landlord. It was one of the big driver later in his life to develop Joint Equity and help everyone who wants their own home get one.

So we do agree with DC in principle but what Mr Cameron and politicians of all persuasion describe as affordable and what everyone else considers affordable is two quite different things so we think the Government and the private investment industry needs to go further.

Brad Bamfield, CEO of Joint Equity, has written a blog on What is the Cost of an Affordable Home the conclusion is the Help to Buy Scheme is not really affordable for great numbers of ordinary people. But Joint Equity can provide you a home of your choice for as little as the cost of a cup of Cappuccino coffee a day more than renting the same house. Well we would say that you say but click here to read how we arrived at that surprising result. Its not rocket science and we explain all.

Old DC backed this up with a further £1.2 billion to get homes built on brownfield sites, “it shows we will do everything we can to get Britain building and let more people have the security that comes with a home of their own.” he said.

The construction of the first wave of up to 13,000 directly commissioned homes – 40% of which will be starter homes – will begin this year in Dover, Chichester, Gosport, Northstowe in Cambridgeshire and Old Oak Common in north west London.

In addition to these, the extra £1.2 billion will fast track the creation of at least 30,000 new starter homes and up to 30,000 market rate homes on 500 new brownfield sites by 2020. The new projects form part of the Government’s commitment to building 200,000 starter homes before the end of the Parliament.

Half of all new homes are constructed by the top eight house builders and the direct commissioning approach will help smaller builders and new competitor firms, according to No 10.

But how will people be able to afford it? Just having more homes does not make them affordable if you cannot get a mortgage or need £30k as a deposit.

We feel the right way forward is the partnership between investors and occupiers through Joint Equity and our Investment Bonds, more on our Bonds here.

Why invest in Buy to Let with all its hassles and its costs when with a Co-Ownership Bond from Joint Equity you can earn 5.5% average plus 3% pa contribution from the terminal bonus.

So 8.5% return and helping people buy their own home at the same time.

Now that is a win/win Partnership