Nationwide Building Society has announced details of a new “stamp duty” offer which means first-time buyers who reserve a mortgage with the society get £1,000 to put towards paying the stamp duty on their property.
The current stamp duty holiday for first-time buyers is due to come to an end on 24 March 2012. Based on the average first-time buyer property of £140,000, borrowers taking their first step onto the housing ladder would need to find an additional £1,400.
The £1,000 cash-back offer is available for a limited time to first-time buyers who hold or open a FlexAccount as their main current account and reserve a mortgage from Nationwide’s range of two, three and five year fixed rate products from 5 March 2012.
On top of this, first-time buyers saving for at least six months in the Society’s Save to Buy account can earn up to an additional £1,000 cash-back – therefore giving qualifying borrowers up to £2,000.
Martyn Dyson, Nationwide’s head of mortgages, said: “The loss of the stamp duty holiday has been a blow for first-time buyers as they now potentially have to save more than a thousand pounds on top of a deposit.
“Nationwide is committed to doing what we can to help support this important part of the market. The Society already offers a £500 discount on product fees and our unique Save to Buy savings account which enables savers to qualify to apply for a mortgage with just a five per cent deposit.
“Add to this to our new cash-back offer and it shows we are really are doing more for first-time buyers.”
