Housing Professionals Unite To Help Home Buyers

Published by Michele for Orbit First Step in Housing

Housing professionals have been working together to help potential homeowners take their first step onto the property ladder.

Developing registered social landlords (RSLs) and local authorities as well as independent financial advisors and solicitors, joined forces recently at a series of stakeholder seminars organised by Orbit First Step, following their recent appointment as HomeBuy Agent in four new regions. These areas are: Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire; Coventry and Warwickshire; Hereford and Worcestershire; Staffordshire and Shropshire; and Birmingham, Solihull and the Black Country. They were already the HomeBuy Agent in Norfolk and Suffolk and also retain this status – making Orbit First Step the largest HomeBuy Agent in England.

As HomeBuy Agent for these areas, Orbit First Step’s role is to assist anyone seeking to buy a home through the Homes and Communities Agency’s (HCA) HomeBuy affordable home ownership products.

Orbit First Step was keen to ensure that all stakeholders were armed with all the necessary information to provide a consistent and high quality service, whatever their individual role. HomeBuy Agency Team Manager, Karen Coleman explained: “The seminars provided an ideal opportunity for us to introduce ourselves to everyone concerned with the purchase of affordable housing and to explain the schemes available to help people buy their new property and the procedures involved.

“Working together will ensure that we can provide a more efficient and streamlined service which will really benefit our clients and give them a positive homebuying experience as has been the case in Norfolk and Suffolk where we have already successfully established ourselves as the region’s HomeBuy Agent for the past three years.”

Karen added: “HomeBuy products are regularly changing and adapting to meet the needs of consumers and we’ll be arranging further meetings and training as required to keep everyone abreast of any new schemes that become available.”

Delegates were also introduced to Orbit First Step’s HomeBuy Agent website which is currently being updated to provide information on all HomeBuy products available in its areas of operation. The website – www.orbithomebuyagents.co.uk – will provide consumers with a single, comprehensive site from which they can access information on properties available at any given time and make an online application.

Harvey Gibbs, a solicitor from Brethertons Solicitors in Rugby, said: “The event I attended in Coventry was extremely informative and provided a comprehensive presentation on the variety of HomeBuy products available. Having a more in-depth understanding of these schemes will certainly assist us with our advice to those of our clients who are involved in affordable home ownership transactions, which in turn will enable us play our part in making the home buying process as smooth and stress-free as possible. We are looking forward to working closely with the team at Orbit First Step as they further establish themselves in their new HomeBuy Agency role and we are confident that clients will ultimately benefit from the relationship we develop in the months to come.”

Oliver Cook from East Cambridgeshire District Council, attended the event in Cambridge. He said: “It was an extremely useful meeting and I learnt about a number of aspects relating to HomeBuy of which I was previously unaware. We’ll be working closely with Orbit First Step who will be responsible for the broadbrush marketing of all affordable housing in the region and it was very encouraging for us to meet their knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff. I think their appointment will prove very positive for homebuyers in our area.”

For further information on Orbit First Step HomeBuy Agency, please call 0345 850 2050 or visit www.orbithomebuyagents.co.uk.