FIRST-TIME buyers in Gedling will remain eligible for mortgages with five per cent deposits for the next year through £1 million of council funding.
The Local Lend a Hand Scheme from Gedling Borough Council has been extended for another 12 months.
Since last April, Gedling Borough Council has helped 33 families complete their mortgage application, with four more having been offered a mortgage.
A further eight families are currently awaiting an offer.
Ben Swanwick, 33, and Hannah Gregory, 28, used the scheme to buy a house in September last year.
Mr Swanwick said: "We would never have been able to afford to buy without the 5 per cent deposit. The more we saved, the more banks seemed to be after."
They were approved based on details of their earnings and outgoings, and bought their four-bedroom terrace house in Gedling Road for £110,000, where they live with their sons Jayson, 19, and Isaac, 2.
They were renting a two-bedroom house in Daybrook when Mr Swanwick stumbled across the scheme.
He said: "I was on the council website looking for rubbish collection dates and saw the advert.
"We weren't sure about it at first, but it enabled us to get something in the area we wanted to live in so it's great. "We've got a driveway and a garden so it's worked out well."
Mortgage payments will be protected under the scheme, so repossession can be avoided if payments are missed.
The council, through Lloyds TSB, will also seek to provide cheaper rates for first-time buyers under the scheme.
The deputy leader of Gedling Borough Council, Michael Payne, said: "It's an outstanding scheme based on the results.
"We are very proud of the scheme and it helps families through tough times."
The Government is set to introduce a similar scheme nationally, called NewBuy.
"To see similar schemes nationally and in other councils shows it has been a success," added Mr Payne.
But The Nottingham Building Society insists it has been offering 95 per cent mortgages to residents in Notts since 2008. The society's chief executive, David Marlow, told the Post: "In that period we have lent over £350 million to new home owners both in the Nottinghamshire and East Midlands.
"In recent months we have been pleased to see some new initiatives aimed at providing assistance for those looking to buy their first home."
