WHETHER are you a young person who’s tired of renting or a parent with grown-up children who can’t afford to move out, buying a home is very appealing.

However, with cost of buying your first home being at record levels the facts can be somewhat depressing for the first time buyer and their parents.

I read recently that young buyers now need to save for longer to find a reasonable deposit and this has increased the average age of the first time buyer to 33.

There are other ways that first time buyers can get onto the property ladder and they should consider the following options when they have decided to make that commitment.

Many new-home developers offer first time buyers incentives.

These can be in different forms, for example some will pay the deposit of up to five per cent, they may pay stamp duty or your legal fees and valuation report which are required by your mortgage lender.

I have even read that some will offer to pay the first year’s mortgage repayments. With the recent Government announcement that more new houses need to be built here in the south east, competition for sales may hot up and we may see some developers offering more of these type of deals so check your local property pages for details of new developments.

Housing associations across the country run Shared Ownership Schemes as an option for those who cannot afford to buy outright. With most schemes you would take out a mortgage for 25 per cent, 50 per cent or 75 per cent of the total value of the property and then pay rent to the Housing Association on the remainder.

Each Housing Association will have its own criteria and you will need to check with them on the terms.

This is an option and lenders are quite happy lending on this basis, however it does have its drawbacks and you should consider very carefully before proceeding.

You may want to consider taking legal advice on detailing responsibilities and costs should property repairs be required.

You may decide that you want to go it alone, you may be able to secure a high percentage borrowing of 95 per cent or 100 per cent. 100 per cent mortgages are very rare these days, mainly due to the fact that if house prices crash the borrower and the lender would find themselves in a negative equity situation.

Lenders are also allowing parents to act as guarantor to their children’s mortgage. Lenders are using parents’ income to support the child’s borrowing capacity where first time buyers can borrow a multiple of, say, four times their parent’s income, but taking into consideration and deducting the parent’s annual mortgage commitments.

This route will need some considerable thought for both parents and their children. Always seek Independent Financial Advice.