Rentplus Chief Executive, Steve Collins, welcomed Sarah’s appointment. “Rentplus believes that every family dreaming of owning their home should have the opportunity to buy. Sarah will help our key and essential workers, and other lower and middle income earners, to realise their dreams across Essex and the South East.”
Rentplus buys new homes from developers, leasing them to housing associations who benefit from the rental income and increased portfolio, without needing to raise funds. Working with local authorities, most of our residents are drawn from the local housing lists, or move from social housing into a Rentplus home, freeing them up for reallocation.
Rentplus families move into a brand new home without having to pay one penny of deposit. They pay affordable rent for five to 20 years, until they are in a position to buy the home they are living in. And after five years, when they will have saved and built up a good credit rating, they have the chance to buy their home. At the point of sale, Rentplus gifts them 10% of the value of the home they are living in towards their deposit.
Sarah has a background in social housing, both with a housing association, Moat, and with L&Q, where she worked across a variety of roles. She is a member of the CIH and joins a team of area managers now stretching from the south of the country all the way to the north of England.
Sarah said: “Rentplus can make a real difference to families who want to own their own home. Many can afford the mortgage payments which may well be less than their private rent, but because they have been unable to save the huge amounts needed for deposits, even for shared ownership, they are denied access to homeownership.
“I am excited to be working with Rentplus to eliminate that barrier and I look forward to working with colleagues in social housing and the property sector across the south east to make this happen.”