Help is at hand for First Time Buyers in Watford who want to get onto the property ladder with only a 3.5 per cent deposit thanks to Barratt North London. Following the success of its homebuyer show last summer the developer is holding another information day this weekend for anyone who has got questions about how to buy a first home through the Governments recently extended HomeBuy Direct initiative.

To be held at the Ramada Jarvis Hotel on the A41 on Saturday 30th January from 10am to 4pm, First Time Buyers are invited to come and speak confidentially to independent financial advisors and representatives from Lea Valley Homes in order to find out everything they need to know about purchasing through the national scheme. Over 100 young homebuyers turned up to the event last year, which resulted in helping a number of buyers to get onto the property ladder with HomeBuy Direct.

Chris Scarborough, Sales Director for Barratt North London comments: “HomeBuy Direct is a superb scheme that has helped a number of First Time Buyers to get onto the property ladder in Watford. We held a similar event last summer as we were aware that many young people locally did not fully understand the Government initiative. The day was a huge success and we were able to help young purchasers to understand the benefits of the scheme and allow them to find out more about buying a new home in the current financial climate.”

HomeBuy Direct allows purchasers to buy a new home for up to 70 per cent of the asking price. The remaining 30 per cent is loaned to the purchaser by both the Government and Barratt Homes. This amount can be paid off over ten years as an interest free loan or whenever the property is sold; whichever comes sooner.

One young local couple, Laura Armstrong and Paul Allen attended the event last summer and are now settled into their new home at Symonds Park on Cow Lane thanks to HomeBuy Direct.

Laura comments: “We knew that we wanted to get onto the property ladder but with so many schemes out there, we felt weighed down with all sorts of questions and weren't sure where to turn in order to get the answers. The HomeBuy Direct show was a great help to us as we met with advisors who could help us at every stage and guide us through the steps required to start the process of buying.”

The Government scheme had originally planned to come to an end in March this year but fortunately it has been extended until September.

Chris continues: “The extension of this scheme is great news for First Time Buyers as it continues to make home ownership an affordable option. However once the scheme is gone, there may not be another opportunity to buy with such a low deposit as well as with an affordable mortgage. The day is simply an opportunity to ask questions and there is no commitment required so I would advise any First Time Buyers to make the most of the free advice and come along on Saturday.”

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NOTES TO EDITORS:

1) For further information about Barratt North London please contact Rachel Greaves on 07795 126562 or rachel.greaves@barratthomes.co.uk 2) Barratt Group is expected to build 12,000 homes in the current financial year, making it the biggest housebuilder by volume in Britain. 3) Barratt Group was the only major housebuilder to be given a four star rating – its highest ever score – in 2009's HBF Customer Satisfaction Survey. 4) In 2009 site managers working for Barratt Group won the highest number of NHBC Pride in the Job Quality Awards for a record fifth consecutive year. 5) Barratt Group is the only housebuilder to guarantee the fixtures and fittings in place at the time of purchase of its new homes for five years. 6) Barratt Group is also one of Britain's foremost sustainable housebuilders. It has now started on site at the Hanham Hall development near Bristol which will be the first Code for Sustainable Homes Level 6 community in the UK when it is completed in 2011. 7) Images of a selection of developments are available to the media at http://www.barrattdevelopments.co.uk/media/photographs/barratthomes/