Hitachi Capital Consumer Finance and Look4aproperty

Product: An unsecured interest free loan offered through Look4AProperty|Money

Loan purpose: Stamp duty and legal fees

Customer interest rate: The loans will be 0% interest, in a similar way to point of sale finance at furniture retailers.

Loan value: We anticipate the loan to be around £3,000 to £5,000 in value.

James Caan launches Look4AProperty|Money to boost business for estate agents

One of the country's leading entrepreneurs has launched a multi-million pound initiative to kick-start the housing market - and estate agents will be at the heart of the solution.

Dragon's Den star, James Caan, famous for using his own money to give fledgling businesses a foothold onto the first rungs of commercial life, now wants to help ordinary people climb the property ladder.

Caan is backing an unprecedented package to take the pain out of buying a home. The initiative will offer interest-free loans to cover unavoidable costs such as stamp duty and legal fees, which is a multi billion pound market.

Access to the loans will be through a network of carefully selected estate agents across the UK. Caan says the scheme is all about getting liquidity back into the property market.
"A healthy housing market is the lifeblood of the UK economy," says Caan. "This country needs sound initiatives to get things moving again - so we have launched Look4AProperty|Money."

From now on, every home buyer in the UK is entitled to apply for an interest free Look4AProperty Money loan (subject to status). All buyers need to do is to ask their local estate agent to arrange it for them as part of the offer they make on the property they wish to buy.

Loans can be spread over two or three years - interest free. Look4AProperty|Money will also offer a 10-month loan to cover the cost of a HIP*.

"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," says Caan.
Caan and his business partner in the venture, Aaron Turner, began negotiating for the initiative last year after Caan bought a 25 per cent stake in Turner's online property portal, Look4AProperty.com. 

According to Turner the stress of finding the money to pay stamp duty is a major reason why many people aren't moving house. "Because stamp duty must be paid by house buyers to HM Treasury on contract completion it cannot be bundled into a home loan," says Turner.
"It is one expense too far for many people. This initiative is an excellent way to help people; it creates a comfort zone which gives them room to move.

"The benefits of this simple scheme are two-fold. Home buyers will have less pain and something to gain from not having to worry about finding the costs involved with moving. 
"The interest free loan will allow home buyers to use the cash they save to pay for vital items for their new homes - and that will help the struggling high street."

The product has been launched with the backing of Hitachi Capital Consumer Finance.
Gerald Grimes, divisional managing director, Hitachi Capital Consumer Finance says Look4AProperty|Money provides a much needed shot in the arm for the UK property market.
"This is huge leap forward for the market and for thousands of people who want to buy or sell a home but can't find the extra money to make it happen," says Grimes.

"Using Hitachi Capital's interest free credit options, Look4AProperty|Money is a quick and efficient way for people to get that extra injection of cash they need at a time when money can be tight.

"When James Caan and Aaron Turner came to us with the proposition, we knew that with our 27 years of experience in consumer finance, we could help house buyers get the home they want."

Facilitating Look4AProperty|Money will be LMS, one of the UK leading providers of conveyancing services to both the estate agent and mortgage lender industry. LMS count HSBC, Abbey and Nationwide as key clients.

Andrew Knee, managing director of LMS says the timing of the product in terms of lending and the housing market is perfect.

"This is a fantastic help for a lot of people and it will allow them to purchase properties where they wouldn't otherwise have been able to. The money from this initiative needs to reach the right people at the right time. That's where we come in." 

The loans are just the first in a number of new products due to be rolled out this year by Look4AProperty|Money. For further details, log on to www.look4aproperty.com

*The HIP loan is a deferred loan over a 10 (ten) month period. The principle sum and the interest will be payable in one payment at the end of the term.

For more information contact: John Atkinson Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC t: 0113 3801125 m: 07768 995905 e: john.atkinson@hitachicapital.co.uk