Dragon Den star unveils £1bn boost for housing market

Published 18th Sep 2009

Celebrity entrepeneur launches new fund to help cash-strapped buyers pay for stamp duty and legal fees


Homebuyers will be able to apply for an interest-free loan to cover the cost of stamp duty and legal fees as part of a new scheme launched by Dragon's Den star James Caan.

The £1 billion scheme, which is being run by Look4AProperty.com, in conjunction with LMS, a property services firm, will offer the loans through participating estate agents. The scheme is being backed by Hitachi Capital.

Consumers will be offered two or three-year interest-free loans, available up to £50,000, which come with no fees or charges.

For example, the repayments on a £5,000 loan over three years would be £138.89 a month.

The loans will be only available to cover stamp duty and legal fees.

Stamp duty is currently 1 per cent of a property's value if it is valued between £175,000 and £250,000, 3 per cent for property's worth between £250,001 and £500,000 and 4 per cent of property's valued above £500,001.

The scheme is also offering sellers a 10-month loan to cover the cost of a home information pack, which sellers are now legally required to produce before a house goes on the market. The loan carries an administration charge of £30.

James Caan said: “This scheme gets rid of those financial obstacles which are holding up the housing market. This means that thousands of people who have been putting off moving or buying their first home can now climb up the property ladder without further delays."

The business will operate as a tripartite agreement between Look4AProperty.com, estate agents and LMS.

Each company puts a percentage of its commission earned through doing business towards paying back the interest on the capital. This way the customer is able to have the loan without having to pay the interest.

The estate agents who have signed up include Savannah Estates and Prospect, but Look4AProperty is also speaking to Connells and Countrywide.

Source: ' Times '

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