The Nationalist Party yesterday said in a statement that Labour’s proposal for the subsidy of interest rates for first-time property buyers would mean that young couples would have to pay back to the State more than double what they are given in subsidies.
“When these property owners come to sell their property, they would have to pay back the amount they were given at commercial rates of interest. This is not a gift to young people but more debt. Labour wants to make a profit over young people who buy their first property.”
The PN said this was not the first time Sant had introduced a loan scheme for young people, referring to the student loans introduced in 1997 for university students whose stipends had been reduced by the Labour government of the time.
“Labour’s proposal for first-time buyers will mean substantial profit at the expense of these couples – profits which could be more than double this so-called aid to first-time buyers,” the PN said.
“It’s nothing but a measure to add a new burden on these citizens. It’s a proposal that reveals the way the MLP would be taking money from young peoples’ pockets if elected to government. Instead of helping those in need, this dishonest proposal will only add to the burden with more debt.”
The PN said Labour had not yet clarified whether it will be intervening in the rate of interest and which interest rates it will be “imposing”. “If they are commercial rates of interest as stated by Alfred Sant, then this could come in the form of a grant that would have to be paid back at intersts rates which could be as much as 7% a year.”
The PN said the Nationalist government’s scheme, through the Housing Authority, gives first-time buyers Lm14,000 in aid under the equity sharing scheme, without having to pay back anything in interest.