Oxfordshire housebuilder joins rate cutting scheme

Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes have partnered with Own New to launch Rate Reducer - a scheme designed to provide prospective homeowners with more control over their monthly outgoings.

The scheme operates by using the incentive budgets that housebuilders offer to their customers with the aim of cutting their monthly mortgage expenses over a pre-agreed term.

The kitchen in a home at a home at Barratt and David Wilson Homes' Hemins Place in Bicester (Image: Barratt and David Wilson Homes)

If a housebuilder happens to offer a 5 per cent incentive on a property, the Rate Reducer scheme uses this figure to directly offset the mortgage interest thus reducing monthly payments.

The scheme provides buyers with the choice to spread the benefit across either the initial two or five years, conditional on the criteria set by the lender.

Customers will pay more off the capital value of their mortgage as the interest charged on the loan is lower.

Lenders will still implement standard affordability assessments, verifying that purchasers can afford repayments if the interest rate rises once the fixed-term benefit terminates.

Founder of Own New, Eliot Darcy said: "Our ethos is to make home ownership and mortgage lending in this country open to more people and we are confident that the launch of the Own New Rate Reducer will achieve that.

“Alongside the national lenders and housebuilders who have signed up to the scheme, we believe that Rate Reducer will be a significant boost to many people’s home-buying dreams.

“This is just the product to stimulate the housing market and to give more people a helping hand and initial boost to get onto the property ladder."

Steve Mariner, sales and marketing director at Barratt Developments, added: "By launching the Own New Rate Reducer scheme we are helping more people to be able to afford a home.

Whitechapel Gardens (Image: Barratt and David Wilson Homes)

“The scheme gives buyers the financial boost they need to get them onto the property ladder.

"They will be able to compare all the options available to them to make sure they get a mortgage product that is right for them and in their long-term financial interests.”

Head of Halifax Intermediaries, Amanda Bryden, said: “We know that buying a new home is a big commitment for our customers so we're thrilled to be one of the first lenders to offer the Rate Reducer incentive through participating builders.

“This product gives customers more choice in the way they can benefit from builder incentives and is especially helpful to those who want to see a lower initial mortgage payment as they get set up in their new home."