Organisations join together to offer low cost home ownership

Neath Port Talbot Council, Coastal Housing and Grwp Gwalia are working in partnership to help people get on the property ladder in Port Talbot.Four two-bedroom houses will be available for purchase and rent through the Neath Port Talbot 'Moving On Up' low cost home ownership scheme.

Gwalia will be offering a house to purchase at Ffordd Derwen in Margam Village at a discounted price of £50,000 and Coastal Housing are offering a property to purchase at The Mews in Port Talbot for sale at the discounted price of £58,000.

With this scheme individuals buy the property outright for the discounted price and the difference between this price and the open market value is provided to the buyer by the housing association via a Homebuy loan. There is nothing to pay on the Homebuy loan until the buyer decides to move on and sell the property. When this happens the housing association will receive a percentage of the sale price.

Gwalia are also offering a further two rental properties at Ffordd Derwen on a "Try Before You Buy" basis. Successful applicants can rent these properties for between on and five years with the option of purchasing the property at anytime during this period.

As the 'Moving on up' scheme offers a substantial discount, strict eligibility criteria and conditions will apply and these will be fully explained on the application form, along with the selection criteria for successful applicants.

Councillor Ali Thomas, Leader of Neath Port Talbot Council said:
"We are delighted to work with both Coastal and Gwalia Housing Associations to help people onto the property ladder who would not otherwise be able to afford to buy their own property."

David Fry, Group Director of Finance, Coastal Housing added, "It is so difficult in the current financial environment for people to get onto the property ladder. We are therefore pleased that we can work in partnership with NPTBC to be able to make this possible for some who would otherwise not have this opportunity."

Stuart Davies, Director of Social and Affordable Housing Development at Gwalia, sees this as a really good opportunity for people who are currently priced out of the market "We're really pleased to have been able to assist Neath Port Talbot Council with their strategy to increase the number of affordable homes within the county. The two bedroom homes in Margam are being built by developer Charles Church, and I think those lucky enough to be successful in their application will have bagged themselves a wonderful new home."