Homes grown

Bombardier Daye and his family outside their new home

More and more military are buying their own homes thanks to an Armed Forces “Home a loan” advance of salary scheme.

Two years into its three-year trial period, the Forces Help to Buy (FHTB) scheme has proved very popular with Service Personnel.

So much so in fact, that nearly 7,000 have already stepped through their own front doors having taken advantage of the scheme which was set up to help them buy their own homes.

And the signs seem to indicate that even more military are motivated to do the same. In fact as many as one in five are considering how FHTB can help them to get that all important first foot on the property ladder.

The hope is that the scheme will open the garden gate to even more hopeful home owners keen to share the experiences of Bombardier Joel Daye and his wife Simona who, thanks to FHTB, after six years of marriage, were able to say goodbye to years of renting service accommodation and move into their first home– giving them a permanent base and somewhere to raise their three daughters.

“Our way of life has improved as the area we have moved into is so lovely,” said Bombardier Daye
“We wanted to purchase our own home as we saw the rent of Service Families Accommodation, as little as it was, as wasted money and thought it could be put to better use paying a mortgage.”

The Scheme
Forces Help to Buy allows Service Personnel to borrow up to £25,000 interest-free over ten years to help fund the deposit for their first home, extend their current one or move to another when they are deployed elsewhere or their needs change in other ways.

Click here for more details about how the scheme works.

Published: June 2016