The Oklahoma City Thunder secured a much-needed win in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday, and much of the post-game credit has been dolled out to two players: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Aaron Wiggins. While SGA, the league MVP, is always expected to make an impact, Wiggins provided an invaluable scoring punch off the […]
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The Kansas City Royals lost a series to the Chicago White Sox over the weekend to fall to 34-32. But they had a big prospect make a splash on the big stage over the weekend. After brutal luck in his first games, Royals top prospect Jac Caglianone had a four-hit game over the weekend. Now, […]
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One of the main aspects the football world is looking for more information on is how the Jacksonville Jaguars are handling Travis Hunter in OTAs, since he has the dual ability of playing offense and defense. While the Jaguars’ rookie has already been impressing on defense through some videos and reactions, head coach Liam Coen […]
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A MORTGAGE scheme that is helping first-time buyers get on the ladder is set to end within weeks.
The mortgage guarantee scheme enables buyers to get a home with just a 5% deposit.
It can be used to buy any type of home as long as you don’t pay more than £600,000 for it.
The scheme provides a guarantee that the Government will cover some of a lender’s losses if a borrower can’t afford to repay their mortgage and the home is repossessed.
It’s been available for buyers since April 2021 but it’s scheduled to end on June 30, and there is no word yet on if or when a replacement will be launched.
The Government said in February it would launch a “new, permanent, comprehensive mortgage guarantee scheme” that would “open the door to home ownership for more young families and hard-working renters”.
Brokers say it’s possible the scheme won’t be replaced – but don’t be too disappointed just yet.
Between the scheme’s launch and the end of December last year, more than 53,000 mortgages were completed using it.
Data released last week shows the total value of mortgages supported by the scheme was £10.7billion.
But not every lender offering 95% mortgages has used the scheme, and many are still offering small or no deposit mortgages outside of the scheme.
Justin Moy, managing director at EHF Mortgages, said the scheme may not be replaced because of renewed confidence in the mortgage market.
“This was originally designed to help lenders stretch to 90-95% Loan to Value at a time when confidence within the market was low, so this looks to be a positive step without causing too many ripples with lenders,” he said.
Pete Mugleston, mortgage adviser and managing director at Online Mortgage Advisor, said losing the scheme would be “mixed news” for first-time buyers.
“On the one hand, the mortgage guarantee scheme was a useful way of helping first-time buyers get on the property ladder if they didn’t have a large deposit,” he said.
“But, given that a lot of lenders are now offering mortgages with a 5% deposit and lower, losing it isn’t as big an issue as it could have been.
“As the government has not given any further details about the scheme it promised in February, we could be waiting a while before we hear anything.”
The Sun contacted the Treasury for comment.
Even if the mortgage guarantee scheme is replaced, there are other Government schemes available for first-time buyers.
You should look into each option thoroughly before going ahead with it and consider any disadvantages to the schemes.
These are some of the options available…
First Homes
First-time buyers can get a home for between 30 to 50% less than its market value through the First Homes scheme.
You can buy a new build home from a developer or a property from someone who’s used the scheme before and is now selling.
The scheme is only available in England and you’ll have to be 18 or older to qualify.
Your total household income must be £80,000 or less, or £90,000 in London.
You’ll also need to be able to get a mortgage for at least half the price of the home.
Shared ownership
If you can’t afford all of the deposit and mortgage payments for a home that meets your needs, you could consider shared ownership.
This is when you buy a share of the property and pay rent to a landlord on the rest.
You’ll also likely need to pay a service charge to maintain common areas shared between you and your neighbours.
Buyers can usually get a share of between 10 and 75% of the home’s full value.
You can buy more of the home later on in a process called staircasing.
However, some people who have used shared ownership have struggled to buy bigger portions of their homes due to being forced to pay increasing rents and service charges.
Lifetime ISA
People struggling to save for a deposit can get extra help from the Government by saving into a Lifetime ISA (LISA).
You can save up to £4,000 a year into it and the Government will give you a free bonus worth 25% of whatever you save.
You have to be between 18 and 39 to open a LISA and you can pay in and get the bonus until you’re 50.
It’s worth knowing that if you withdraw your money before you’re 60, it must be spent on buying your first home.
If you withdraw it for any other reason you’ll lose your bonus and also effectively pay a 6.25% penalty – so you’ll end up with less than you put in.
You should also be aware that you can only use a LISA on homes worth up to £450,000.
Right to Buy
This scheme was brought in during the 1980s and allows most council tenants the right to buy their council house at a discount.
There are different rules for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
You can make a joint application with up to three family members who have lived with you for the past 12 months.
If you rent from a Housing Association you may also have the right to buy it at a discount under the Government’s Right to Acquire Scheme.
Deposit Unlock
This lets you buy a new build home from any developer registered with the scheme as long as you have a 5% deposit.
The scheme is available to both first-time buyers and home movers.
It’s available on new-build homes up to the price of £833,250.
Deposit Unlock is currently available with participating lenders including Nationwide, Accord Mortgages and Newcastle Building Society.
As well as Government schemes, some mortgage lenders have also been offering incentives for first-time buyers.
For example, Skipton Building Society offers a 100% mortgage deal that allows you to buy a home without a deposit.
A similar mortgage deal was recently launched by April Mortgages too.
Accord offers a £5,000 deposit mortgage while other lenders have been slashing their affordability rules.
These types of mortgages can open doors for people who wouldn’t be able to get on the housing ladder otherwise.
Experts have generally seen the reintroduction of 100% mortgages as a positive thing and this deal from April Mortgages does have rigid lending criteria.
But it’s important to remember this deal won’t be for everyone and they can be seen as quite controversial home loans.
100% mortgages mean you don’t need a deposit – but it also puts buyers at higher risk of negative equity. This is when your mortgage is more than the total value of your home, which can happen if house prices fall.
If you’re in this position it can make it harder to remortgage, sell your home and get competitive rates from lenders.
Typically they also have higher interest rates, making them more expensive.
The general rule is that the smaller your deposit the higher your monthly mortgage repayments will be.
Therefore because you won’t have a deposit, your monthly repayments are likely to be more expensive compared with someone who did put down a deposit.
You will need to be sure you can keep up with the payments and account for any potential financial shocks.
100% mortgages disappeared after the financial crisis in 2008, as they were seen a contributor to the sub-prime housing bubble and subsequent collapse.
BRENDAN CUMMINS has defended the time-keeping in the Munster hurling final – and laid out exactly why it was “spot on”.
Cork claimed a first provincial title in seven years following an enthralling penalty shoot-out win over Limerick on Saturday.
The Treaty men were on the way to the seven in-a-row before Darragh Fitzgibbon notched a 65′ that sent the game to the shoot-out.
That set play was taken 3:45 at the end of extra-time, despite there having been just one minute of additional time signalled.
This scenario was criticised by Limerick boss John Kiely, who called it “difficult to understand”.
Kiley said: “We felt that there were three minutes gone.
“It’s hard to find three minutes of added time in a ten-minute half.”
However, speaking on the Sunday Game, former Tipperary goalkeeper Brendan Cummins insisted substitute referee James Owens was right to allow play to go on.
Outlining why, he explained: “It was two minutes and 25 seconds before the game restarted and that time was allowed.
“And then you bring it forward to Aaron Gillane’s free, there is 83 minutes on the clock and ball from Gillane goes over the bar. He (Owens) blew for half-time.
“And then at the end of extra time, you can see James Owens in the middle of the field pointing out clearly one minute of additional time to his officials.
“Shane O’Brien is then fouled by Damien Cahalane, we are just under the 90 minutes.
“Cahalane gives away the free but behind all that Cian Lynch gets a head injury and he needed attention, so he had to leave the field of play.
“It took one minute for Cian Lynch to get off the pitch.
“Aaron Gillane looks around at the referee and says ‘am I ok to go (take the free). We still have one minute to go.”
Cummins then pointed to the late Darragh Fitzgibbon free, which went behind off of Limerick stopper Nickie Quaid for the critical 65′.
Cummins added: “Before the free, the referee did not tell him that this was the last puck of the game.
“The important piece here is that, and I didn’t realise this until I spoke to a number of referees today, the rulebook states that ‘if it goes out for a 65 you must let the 65 be taken’.”
The conversation then cut to the rule itself.
It reads: “Should the defending team commit a further foul before the referee whistles for full-time, the Referee shall further extend the time to permit an additional free to be taken, from which a score can be made, provided no other player of the side taking the free touches the ball.”
Cummins added: “The distinction here is, if that free went into the square and there was a foul on a Cork player, the free would be given.
“If there is a 65′, it is counted as a free puck of the ball, but if Nickie Quaid got that and drove it over the sideline, it is not seen as a lifting strike action or a free so the play would have been blown up.
“To be fair to the officials they got the timing right in the game, the timekeeping was spot on.”
IRELAND defender Dara O’Shea is preparing for the Championship — even though he knows he is Premier League class.
O’Shea, 26, suffered relegation with Ipswich Town last season and is a wanted man this summer.
SunSport revealed last week there is interest from former club Burnley, Leeds United, Wolves and some Serie A clubs.
Ipswich do not want to lose him a year after he signed from Burnley.
And the Tractor Boys are believed to be ready to offer him an improved contract with no relegation release clause.
O’Shea has already spoken to Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna about going back to the Prem.
He said: “I’m not going to think about it until the season ends and I’ve got one more game to focus on and then I can sit down and relax.
“But I’m fully committed to Ipswich at the moment.
“I’ve got another four years there and I want to get the club back into the Premier League.
“I’m ambitious as a player. I want to be playing in the Premier League but I know it’s not as easy as that.
“Whatever happens in football happens for a reason. You have a journey and you’ve got to stick to that sometimes.
“I feel like I’m well capable of playing in the Premier League and competing.
“Obviously it’s hard when you get relegated and I’ve got to get myself back there now.
“It’s going to be a tough season next season but I think we’ve got more than enough to get back there.
“I think it doesn’t matter where I am next season.
“I’ve got to still play like I’m a Premier League player. That’s the main aim for me.
“I’ve spoken to the gaffer and that’s the task he set for me. He wants me to carry on the standards of a Premier League player.”
A SHIPWRECK mystery has been solved after divers uncovered a vessel which sunk nearly 140 years ago.
Crew on board the SS Nantes made desperate attempts to plug the ship’s holes with mattresses when it sunk in 1888.
The wreckage of the SS Nantes, has been discovered, having sunk 137 years ago – killing almost everyone onboard.
The boat tragically collided with a German sailing vessel, the Theodor Ruger, in November 1888, as reported by NeedToKnow.
Only two people survived, with two people jumping to safety on the Ruger, and one person who stayed on the Nantes trying to keep it afloat.
The Nantes sank approximately ten hours after the collision, this took place off the coast of Plymouth, in the early hours of the morning.
Diver Dominic Robinson discovered the wreckage of the SS Nantes last week, 246 feet below sea level.
The 50-year-old former Army Officer found a plate with the Cunard Steamship Company logo, belonging to the forgotten vessel.
This enabled him to work out that the wreck he had found was that of the SS Nantes.
Dominic and his crew then carefully examined the site of the wreck, and discovered old crockery which was key in identifying the wreck.
He said: “The Nantes was built in 1874, in Glasgow, and very sadly lasted a mere 14 years before it was sunk,” said Dominic.
“It was on a passage from Liverpool to La Havre, when it was sunk in France carrying cargo of coal.
“It’s quite a sad story.”
After the ship went down, it became lost until Dominic and his team discovered it.
Dominic, who has been an underwater explorer for around 35 years, first caught wind of the unidentified shipwreck from the UK Hydrographic Office.
Maritime Historian Dr Harry Bennett, who works at the institute, explained why the wreck has taken well over a century to find: “Obviously you’re dealing in a period with no satellite navigation.
“While the crew tried to save the ship it drifted for several hours, before it finally made its way to the bottom, sadly with many of its crewmen on board”.
Dominic added: “The wreck was lost until a local dive team identified it in 2024.
“We got the size of the wreck from the information on the UK Hydrographic Office.
“We knew the boat is about 78 or 79 metres long.
“We also knew that there was a Cunard plate from it – which was basically what we’re looking for.
“So what you do is you try to find a list of all the Cunard ships that were sunk.
“You then try and narrow them down to, to a relatively small one, and an old one.
“We obviously know where it sank, so if you can find information about the sinking and the wreck that aligns all those things up, then it’s fairly straightforward to identify it.”
The Cunard plate which Dominic found was crucial in the ship’s identification.
He said: “Even though the wreck had been dived before, it was never identified and this small piece of broken plate allowed us to do exactly that.
“The more eagle eyed amongst you may already have noticed the logo from the famous Cunard shipping line.
“And not surprisingly, this is what gave us the most significant clue.”
WWE thrives on epic showdowns and fierce rivalries. Over the years, we’ve seen some of the most legendary clashes unfold in front of our eyes, like Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns, John Cena vs. The Rock, The Undertaker vs. Kane, or Stone Cold vs. The Rock. These intense feuds are a huge part of why […]
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