Home advice for first-time buyers

Organisers hope more first-time buyers will boost the whole market

First-time buyers worried about the credit crunch are being offered a unique chance to get advice from professionals involved in the industry.

The event, at Venue Cymru in Llandudno, Conwy, aims to bring together aspiring homeowners with estate agents, developers, solicitors and politicians.

Organiser Steve Jones said he hoped people would leave "with an action plan for what they need to do".

On Thursday it was revealed first-time home loans had fallen to 1974 levels.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders said that mortgages to new buyers in 2008 had dropped 46% compared with the previous year.

Mr Jones, a financial advisor, had the original idea for the event.

"The original thought was that first-time buyers didn't have the right information, in terms of mortgages available and assistance from the assembly government on shared ownership," he said.

"It's not simple to obtain a mortgage but there are ways to do it, particularly there are mortgage lenders who have schemes for first-time buyers to buy from builders without a deposit."

Before the main event, there will be a networking session for professionals involved in the property market, together with the local AM Gareth Jones and David Jones, MP for Clwyd West and Shadow Minister for Wales.

Bottlenecks

There will be 25 different exhibitors, together with a series of impartial seminars.

The 10 minute talks will cover subjects like, affordability, what parents can do to help, self-builds, refurbishing old homes and how to find a home.

Mr Jones said even a small increase in first-time buyers would have a significant impact on the market as a whole by removing a bottleneck.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders said it expects lending to fall further in 2009.

About two-thirds of all new mortgage deals currently require at least a 25% down payment from the borrower, up from 10% at the end of 2007.