Gentoo calls for Home Purchase Plan support

Gentoo made the call at a parliamentary roundtable event on the Genie Home Purchase Plan.

The Genie Home Purchase Plan allows consumers to enter into a long-term payment plan (between 25-30 years) to acquire an increasing share in their home over time.

During the term of the contract they have the same rights and responsibilities as someone who purchased their home with a conventional mortgage and will own the property outright on completion.

Speaking at the event Labour peer Lord Whitty explained that the plan could help young first-time buyers who were struggling to save for a deposit on a house.

However Steve Hicks, managing director of Genie, said the plan would struggle to fulfil its potential if it failed to gain access to the government’s Debt Guarantee Scheme.

Hicks said: “The Genie Home Purchase plan can transform the market. We don’t want a grant or funding but just a little help.

“As things stand we are neither excluded nor included in the Debt Guarantee Scheme.

“We meet all the criteria to be eligible for access to the scheme except for one part. We are not asking for any special treatment but just for the chance to apply and to be considered for inclusion.”

Genie is currently looking to raise £60m of equity which would facilitate an application for £240m of guaranteed debt.

The level of investment could help 1,800 consumers access home-ownership and would assist in proving the concept of home purchase plans at scale to enable Genie to unlock long-term institutional funding.

So far the scheme has been successfully piloted in the North-East of England and 60 homes are currently being purchased through the scheme.