A local council is giving residents up to £5,000 through a new scheme to get residents on the property ladder.
The help is due to be offered to people living in the South Hams constituency in Devon who are currently renting a social housing property.
The money must be used to help them purchase a shared ownership home.
Shared ownership is where someone buys a percentage of a property - usually between 25% and 75% - while paying rent on the part they don’t own.
The “Step On” scheme in South Hams will launch on April 1.
As well as helping people on to the property ladder, South Hams council says the idea is to help tenants to downsize to smaller homes.
This in turn "helps the council to free up some of the larger homes in our area for younger families in need".
Downsizers will receive a fixed payment of £1,000, an additional "High Demand Area" payment of £2,500 and £500 per bedroom released. The total funding available to residents is capped at £5,000.
The council said: "This has been introduced due to the current shortage of larger family homes in the area. The total amount of money local people could receive depends on how many bedrooms are released by the move."
Have you just purchased your first home and want to share your journey on to the property ladder? Let us know: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk
It added: "There are currently over 170 new shared ownership homes of various sizes in the pipeline for communities across the South Hams."
The local authority says the maximum £5,000 funding makes 100% of the deposit required to purchase up to 30% of a shared ownership home.
To be eligible for the scheme, you must have an annual household income of no more than £80,000.
Councillor Judy Pearce, leader of the authority, said: "We all know that steep house prices and a shortage of homes for rent means many local people are struggling to find a home.
"By providing up to £5,000, which will not need to be paid back, we can give local residents a helping hand to step on the housing ladder.
"This in turn, would allow their homes to become available for relet to a household on the housing register, helping us to help even more people."
Other help for first-time buyers
If you’re struggling to buy your first home, there are plenty of first-time buyer schemes out there to help you on the way.
We explain some of the schemes available now:
Lifetime ISA : The Lifetime ISA (LISA) is a type of savings account that gives would-be homebuyers a free 25% cash boost from the government.
You can save up to £4,000 in a LISA each year, meaning the maximum bonus you can pocket is £1,000 annually.
Anyone who is aged 18 to 39 can open a LISA for free - but the money must be used to buy your first home or for your retirement once you reach the age of 60.
The maximum bonus is £33,000 if you open it at 18, and max it out until you turn 50 - you can’t pay into a LISA beyond the age of 50.
Help to Buy equity loan : This allows savers to buy a home with a 5% deposit and the government will lend you up to 20% of the property price, or 40% in London.
You'll have to start paying interest on the loan after five years, at a rate of 1.75%, so keep in mind this added cost to your repayments.
Help to Buy is only available on new-build properties and there are maximum property values set for different parts of the UK.
For example, the maximum property price for buying in the north east of England is £186,100, rising to £600,000 if you’re buying in London.
Help to Buy will run until March 2023 unless the government extends it.
Help to Buy ISA : Help to Buy ISA accounts closed to new savers on November 30, 2019 - but if you’ve already opened an account, you can keep saving until November 30, 2029.
You must also claim your bonus by December 1, 2030.
When they first launched, you could open an account with a maximum of £1,200 but after that you're limited to saving £200 a month into it.
The government then tops up your savings with a 25% bonus - the maximum you can get free is £3,000, and you'd need to save £12,000 to get this.
Mortgage guarantee scheme : Through this initiative, savers can put down a 5% deposit and the government acts as a guarantor if they miss a payment.
But, while the scheme is marketed at first-time buyers, it’s not just limited to those hoping to get on the ladder for the first time.
Guarantor mortgages will be available to anyone buying a property costing up to £600,000, unless they are investing in buy-to-let or second homes.
Critics of the scheme point out that you’ll save money in the long-run if you can afford a bigger mortgage.
Some lenders also continue to offer 5% mortgages outside of the government-backed scheme that may be cheaper for borrowers.
Shared ownership : This is where you buy a share of a property - between 25% and 75% of the property value - and pay rent on the rest.
The share you can buy is usually between 25% and 75% but can be as low as 10% on some homes.
You can buy additional amounts under what's known as “staircasing” which is where you slowly increase the amount of the property you own.
Shared ownership isn’t limited to first-time buyers, but to be eligible, you need to have an individual income no greater than £80,000 a year or £90,000 a year in London.
Your combined income can't be greater than these caps if you're buying as a couple.
