- 06 Sep 18

More and more young couples are snapping up homes in Maidstone, thanks to a special house buying initiative, according to a Kent-based builder.

Bovis Homes' Orchard Fields location in Maidstone 
Georgina Milner, sales advisor at Bovis Homes' Orchard Fields location, said there had been a rise in first-time buyers using the Government’s Help to Buy – Equity Loan scheme in recent months.

A total of 170,000 homes have been purchased through the Help to Buy – Equity Loan scheme since it started, a new report released by the Home Builders Federation (HBF) reveals.

With the new academic year starting at schools, more young families are expected at the Maidstone location in the next few weeks, as well as older buyers in search of their dream home.

Georgina said: “There are a lot of young couples moving here, many relocating back to Maidstone having lived away for some time.

“A lot are using Help to Buy. It’s a great scheme and young people are flocking to take advantage of it. Those that can afford bigger houses are coming to us because it’s difficult to buy them elsewhere in Kent at the moment.

“But Help to Buy is not just open to first-time buyers and we also have couples in their 40s and 50s who are using the scheme to buy their dream home.”

Bovis Homes has its national headquarters in nearby Kings Hill and has been building at Orchard Fields, Barming for two years.

There are now only eight properties left to buy including four, four-bedroom Canterbury house types, available from £489,995. There are also two three-bedroom Southwold, two five-bedroom Arundel and one five-bedroom Chester properties on the market.

With the Help to Buy - Equity Loan, buyers need a five per cent deposit, with the Government providing an equity loan of up to 20 per cent of the value of the property. Buyers then need to secure up to a 75 per cent mortgage.

More than four out of five of the 170,000 homes purchased through the Help to Buy – Equity Loan scheme since it started in England five years ago were bought by first-time buyers, the HBF report shows.

This has enabled around 246,000 individuals get on to the housing ladder.

Georgina said: “All our house types are popular, but especially the Canterbury. It’s a lovely four-bedroom home with a nice balance to it over the two floors and it flows beautifully.”

Bovis Homes is offering house buyers at Orchard Fields £3,000-worth of vouchers in the lead up to Christmas. These include £2,500-worth of John Lewis and Waitrose vouchers and £500 to spend on Amazon.

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