Homebuy scheme defended
Saturday 23rd April 2011, 2:57PM BST.
Former Housing Minister Sean Power
THE former Housing Minister has defended a scheme that enables Islanders to buy family homes at a discounted price following criticism from the States in-house spending watchdog.
Deputy Sean Power said that he stands by the Jersey Homebuy scheme, which enables families to buy a three-bedroom house at a discounted price, and says that it is a good scheme.
This week the Public Accounts Committee published a report that said the scheme, which was pioneered by Environment Minister Freddie Cohen, has numerous flaws and is neither fit for purpose nor sustainable.
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as a supporter of anything that gets a home for local families, the thing is it needs to be afforable and not with a mortgage you will give to the kids to complete the payments.
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This man phtocopied personal info & past it on to a 3rd party…. would never trust him or his words again…
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It’s Mr Cohen again!!!
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well done Mr. Power, I am in this scheme and it is excellent, basically the states pay your deposit of eg 25% and then when you sell the states get the Market value of 25%, so the states make money… without the scheme, I would never had been able to buy a 3 bedroom house. I hope many more families get to buy their homes. Not everyone has £40,000 + deposit in the bank, with the states help you can buy the properties as long as you can afford the mortgage… keep this going and let many more families have the opportunity to buy their home… EXCELLENT idea….
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When you sell, can you only sell to first time buyers at a discounted price, or can you sell to anyone for a huge profit. If the first option then great, I like this. If the latter, perhaps this would be one of the flaws.
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#4 ‘basically the states pay your deposit of eg 25% and then when you sell the states get the Market value of 25%’
Don’t be surprised, then, if the States encourage house price inflation!
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As a person whom has bought and now living in a three bed house on this scheme I am personnally grateful for it. My partner and myself would never have been able to purchase a family home in the foreseeable future without it ….. I think for once they actually got something right !
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Sean Power could or would not answer the questions put to him and the “gang” at housing regarding who negotiated the prices with Dandara and the deal was kept quiet from the states for way too long.My money.Anyway.. Mr. Power will be long gone after the elections , along with Freddie and the estate agent.
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I am uneasy about the States acting in a way that props up an inflated housing market. There are plenty of houses on the market at the moment, some small 2 to 3 bedrommed semis which years ago would have sold without any effort.
The current generation of first time buyers are really being hoodwinked that properties are worth what they are when in fact they are only worth what a purchaser is prepared to pay.
Dandara were left with properties that they could not sell and the States should have let the market establish a fair price, rather than act as wholesaler, by making a delayed profit by retaining an equity stake.
Sooner or later, someomne in Jersey will end up in a negative equity position – The market cannot keep rising !
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Not fit for purpose? It’s exactly fit for purpose! With all these new ‘affordable housing’ properties going up that start at about £400k (like we an all afford that!), this scheme is just what we need to encourage families to get on the property ladder.
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H’mm! Think I’ll stick with ‘Honest Nev’ rather than follow archie’s,(8) predictions!
What a load of sanctimonious twaddle from (2). So the remaining 52 members have never leaked anthing, copied anything, plotted against each other, as well as all the other ‘strategic’ activities politicians indulge in! Of course they have! In public they will have tutted, said how awful his behaviour was and then when at home and the lights were down low, will have come out in a cold sweat knowing they have, at times, behaved no differently! It’s a rough old game! Same here, same everywhere. Give something marked ‘confidential’ to a politician and it will be reported in the media before you can say archirondel! With a fresh mandate, Power will be difficult to ignore in any new CoM. He’s sharp, articulate and does actually know what is going on out there. It’s Easter! If you are perfect, then be my guest and get in that ‘glass house’ and start throwing those stones but if you’re like the rest of us, accept we all make mistakes and allow people to move on.
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Bean about a bit.. Yes I can only sell to a first time buyer, my house is a previously owned states house and will be valued as such. Still I have no intention on selling as we will be living here for a long time, I thank the States for getting this right, although trying to buy was very tiresome and frustrating at times, but it was a new system so this would be expected.. apart from that the people I was dealing with were on the ball and trying their best to push things along, I am so happy that I could buy my own house, it is a great scheme and I think more people should enquire about it as it is not so far out of reach as people expect..
one thing though, if you move your mortgage to another lender and want to add the legal costs into your mortgage the states will not agree that you increase your mortgage without buying part of the equity they own, regardless of the market value… I could not afford to buy more of the equity as when I bought it was on the agreement upon the first sale they got their 25% back, not everytime you find a better rate and try to move lenders… anyhow, one day I may be able to buy the 25% off them but not for a long time.
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The scheme does not work because there are some people in Jersey who were able to put in substantial deposits (ie. £100k).
How the hell did they qualify as assisted buyers?
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What concerns me on this issue, is that in the past Mr Power has offered his lobbying services to development companies doing business in Jersey. His approach to Harcourt at the time of his election for Deputy in 2005 is well documented.
So could someone please explain, how on earth, with this history, was Mr Power deemed a suitable person to be appointed Housing Minister?
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What concerns me Gary(14)is having a States Member with a brain in their head. Power is bright and is willing to have a go and make things happen. God knows we need that right now. I’ll give him a vote in St Brelade in October.
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Anon (7), Easter Bunny (10) and Jersey Girl (4&12) exactly what we need – well informed people who actually know what they are talking about. Well done. Anyone who has actually taken the time to look at the scheme and NOT simply accept everything they read in the JEP cannot fail to be impressed. 46 homes at £260k – cost the taxpayer nothing and in time will return a minimum of £8m to the States. Well Done Messrs Power & Cohen – more please, lots more… I’d offer one more thought. Isn’t the same politician criticizing this scheme the same one who failed so miserably to become Housing Minister (twice !!) Sour Grapes Mr Breckon, of course not……
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Political amateur (13) Interesting point – there must be a reason and only one side of the story is reported. Could it be that even with large deposits our starter homes are still so expensive that people on even average incomes cannot afford them? Perhaps someone who knows can enlighten us
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#14 Gary ‘What concerns me on this issue, is that in the past Mr Power has offered his lobbying services to development companies doing business in Jersey’
Following the revelations about lobbying in Parliament (which were fortuitously overshadowed by the expenses scandal) the public should be well aware that politicians are likely to be representing more than just their electorate.
Imagining that this wouldn’t happen in Jersey is being somewhat naive. ‘Networking’is made easy by the compactness of the community.
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#18 R B Bougourd
I am not naive enough to imagine that this doesn’t happen in Jersey – just look at the current make-up of Ministers and assistant ministers in our state’s assembly!
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warren j (9). i also do not agree with the idea that the states keep the price up, by any means.
not saying that they do.
the scheme for tenants to buy was good , most of us tenants, who would like to buy our homes .
would be buying a home and not a property to make money on , just something for the kids .
sadly we cannot afford the home we are currently in , and will miss the comunity spirit when we go.
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why should the tax payer pay for the deposits of people who cannot afford their own? I worked three jobs for 12 years to save for mine. Stop bucking the market, it doesn’t work, it steals from the middle classes to pay for the idle.
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Mr Mensa (15) What concerns me Gary(14)is having a States Member with a brain in their head.
But in what direction is Mr Power’s brain focused. Mr Power is an opportunist who will look after his own interest.
R B Bougourd (6) is correct, this will just encourage house price inflation!
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This will just keep house prices artifially high.Why not let them fall until people can afford them.It costs approx £150,000 to build an average house not including land costs.The cost of building a flat in a large development is a lot less.The real winners in this are the developers.This scheme should keep Dandara going for a few more years
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