The Family Affordability Plan allows parents to help their children get on or move up the property ladder without being on the property deeds.
Both incomes are used to calculate the mortgage amount and the scheme is available across all mortgage rates including NewBuy.
Andy Gray, head of mortgages at Barclays, said: “The cost of stepping on or moving up the housing ladder can be a big barrier for many, but the long term benefits hugely exceed the initial expense.
“Many parents have already realised the return from buying their homes and want to give their children this important step towards independence but they cannot afford to provide them with the deposit to buy their first home or trade up.”
Mike Fitzgerald, sales and marketing director at the Emba Group, has hailed the plan as a success:
He said: “Just looking at it, if the scheme had been introduced four or five years ago we probably wouldn’t have looked at it. However in the present climate, we should be getting behind any scheme that helps first-time buyers. It’s very important to look at all the positives and not focus on the negatives and it may spur other companies to introduce similar schemes.”
Similarly, Sally Laker, managing director at Mortgage Intelligence, said the move should be welcomed. “I think it’s great and exactly what parents need to help their children.
"It will be attractive to the parent generation as they see it as an investment and know that their children will be able to afford the monthly repayments. It’s simple and easy to understand.”
Laker did highlight potential risks as parents aren’t named on the deeds, just on the mortgage. And she added: “Parents should be made aware that they’re not on the deeds and may not be entitled to anything. They may want to have something in place legally which states that if the property is sold they will get back any money they have put in.”
