Homebuyers 'partnering with strangers to buy a property'
Date:Thursday 18th September 2008
Author:
Buyers are increasingly seeking out a "property partner" to help them jointly purchase a new home, it has been claimed.
Website SmartSharedHomes.com has reported a 30 per cent increase in buyers looking for someone with whom to buy a new home.
This is done in an effort to meet the challenge of the high deposit needed in the current climate.
SmartSharedHomes.com provides a network for these buyers to interact and join together.
It compares itself to a dating website format, with users posting personal profiles and matching up with like-minded potential partners.
According to the website, homebuyers now need £27,738 to buy their first property, taking into account deposit, stamp duty and solicitors' fees.
New data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) shows that gross lending declined in August.
It totaled an estimated £21.8 billion, a 12 per cent drop from July and a 36 per cent fall from August 2007.
CML director general Michael Coogan said the statistics showed "heightened uncertainty for both lenders and consumers in the mortgage market at present".
