Would you buy a house for a pound?

Published: 24/05/2013

It sounds like the bargain of the century but people really have had the opportunity to buy a house in Stoke-on-Trent for just £1 under a recent rejuvenation project.

An initial 35 derelict homes in the Cobridge area are available as part of the scheme with a further 89 expected to follow.

In addition, the successful buyers will also be offered a loan of up to £30,000 to repair and modernise their new property. Any loan taken would need to be repaid within 10 years at an interest rate of 3% above the Bank of England base rate.

While successful applicants will be picked at random, they had to have:

• Lived in the city for the past three years
• A joint income of between £18,000 or £25,000 a year, or a maximum of £30,000 if they had children
• No other property
• Employed for the past two years
• The right to live permanently in the UK

They also have to commit to live in their new property for five years. After that they can move on. However if it was sold within 10 years, the council would receive a proportion of the profit.

The incentive is the second of its kind; in March Liverpool City Council launched its “Homes for £1” scheme which gave people the opportunity to buy one of 20 houses in the Granby and Picton areas of the city.

Content correct at time of publication