Guarantee Signals 95% Mortgage Return

Taylor Wimpey has announced that it has negotiated an exclusive mortgage guarantee scheme, paving the way for 95% mortgages for first time buyers.

The Take5 deal, with Melton Mowbray Building Society and Saffron Building Society, is being offered initially in three regions of the UK. It means that buyers could now secure a two bedroom home with a deposit of just £5,750, compared with the UK average of £28,770.

The launch of the new mortgages, which have interest rates of between 5.49 and 5.99 per cent fixed for two years, comes as Housing Minister Grant Shapps chairs an emergency summit in London with mortgage lenders, house builders and other industry leaders to find a solution to the first-time buyer crisis.


Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has stated that first-time buyers had been "frozen out" of the market by the lack of mortgages. The Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates that the average age of a first time buyer not receiving financial help from family is 36. This is largely due to the size of deposit now required by lenders which has trebled in the last 10 years

Pete Redfern, Group Chief Executive at Taylor Wimpey, comments: "We have been working hard to secure this mortgage deal which we believe will make all the difference to those who aspire to own their own home but find it difficult to save for the large deposits needed. Discussions are at an advanced stage with other lenders to support this initiative as part of a range of practical and workable solutions to get more first time buyers moving."

(CD/GK)