The announcement is part of Pink’s ‘you can have your cake and eat it’ fees-assisted campaign. It is in response to an increase in right-to-buy enquiries and broker feedback that reported right-to-buy customers, fitting into the non-conforming product range, would benefit greatly from assisted fees.
The move comes on the back of the five-year housing plan revealed by the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott who announced that from April 2006 housing association tenants will be able to buy a share in the value of their homes ranging from 10 to 50 per cent.
The scheme ‘Homebuy’ is aimed at extending the opportunity for home ownership for up to 300,000 families. Dev Malle, associate director at Pink, said: “Our fees-assisted campaign was originally only available for remortgage cases.
“A combination of increased demand and the fact that right-to-buys are very similar to remortgage cases, as the tenant is buying the property they already live in, presented a strong case to offer free valuations across the adverse range of products with our branded lender partners. The initial response has been excellent.”
Ian Paterson, director at The Review Company in Horsham, said: “The government is totally committed to the principle of right-to-but which means that there are more opportunities to get on the housing ladder for first-time buyers.
“Our non-conforming right-to-buy clients are normally on very tight budgets; this move by Pink will be very warmly welcomed.”
