MyChoiceHomeBuy meeting targets despite tough market 

Marilyn DiCara, Moat’s director of sales and marketing



MyChoiceHomeBuy (MCHB), the new shared equity product introduced by Moat and seven partner housing associations with government backing last April, is on track to beat our first year targets.

By March 2009, Moat expects to have supported over 500 households to buy their own home through MCHB. In the context of current market conditions this is a tremendous success.

Marilyn DiCara, Moat’s director of sales and marketing, says: “Despite the credit crunch, mortgage lenders are showing a real appetite to lend to people with good credit histories for this product and other shared equity schemes.”

Under MyChoiceHomeBuy people can purchase between 50% and 85% of a property, using a normal mortgage. Moat and the government buy the remaining equity and the purchaser pays an annual interest charge of 1.75% of the value of the equity loan. Buyers can purchase additional shares or step up to full ownership by paying back part or all of the equity loan, based on the prevailing value at the time.

Marilyn DiCara says: “The great advantage of MyChoiceHomeBuy over the previous Open Market HomeBuy scheme is that we can help people to buy at lower percentages and people don’t have to have a deposit. The low interest charge also helps makes it affordable. Despite the recent change in the market, house prices in London and the South East are still very high and out of reach for too many people. This scheme helps overcome that continuing affordability gap.”

Moat is offering MCHB in Essex, Kent and Sussex, where we are the government’s HomeBuy Agent.

“The feedback on the quality of our HomeBuy agency services from Moat’s local authority and employer partners, from other housing associations who use us and from our buyers has been excellent,” Marilyn DiCara says. “We will certainly be bidding to renew our agency agreement with the government from next April and we hope we can look to our partners for support. It has been a highly successful three years and we look forward to continuing our strong relationships on HomeBuy with everyone.

“The housing market is obviously very difficult at the moment. But the efforts of the government and organisations like Moat as HomeBuy Agents to introduce new initiatives means people are still in a good position to buy a home should they want to. Buying through HomeBuy is a good way of reducing the downside risk in a falling market, but still gaining when any upturn arrives.

“We are being very clear with people about the potential risks of home ownership. We make absolutely sure that potential buyers have all the information they need to make responsible choices.”