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Barratt lures buyers with free insurance
Ruth Bloomfield16.03.09
ONE of Britain's biggest house builders is offering new buyers a way to "recession-proof" their property in a bid to encourage sales.
Barratt Homes is giving away a year of the insurance on new developments in London so the owner is covered for up to three years if he or she is made redundant. The deal - thought to be worth about £1,000 - is the latest example of a developer offering sweeteners to potential buyers.
A spokeswoman for Barratt London said that the insurance would be offered with every new home bought, and would "insure buyers against being unable to make their mortgage re-payments through no fault of their own".
It applies to 500 Barratt homes on sale in London and the Thames Gateway, including developments in Kennington Park Square, and a block called The Sanctuary, in Wimbledon.
The offer coincides with a poll today by YouGov which reveals that almost 90 per cent of Londoners still aspire to home ownership, despite fears of falling house prices and job losses.
The survey - carried out for the New Homes Marketing Board - found that 88 per cent of people in London believe that buying a home is still a sensible investment. This is only two per cent off a similar survey taken nine months ago, before the credit crunch had taken hold, which found that 90 per cent supported home ownership.
Adam Lawrence, Barratt London and Thames Gateway's managing director, said: "Whether it's illness, injury, redundancy or something else unexpected, this policy will ensure mortgage repayments are covered in full for up to three years. It's a welcome element of reassurance in uncertain times."
Another developer offering sweeteners is property firm Ipsus. The company is offering anyone who buys a flat in its Ipsus01 development in Hardwicks Square, Wandsworth, a £20,000 package of free goods.
These include Waitrose vouchers, a Zones 1 and 2 travelcard, and council tax paid for a year.
Reader views (4)
Yes; Insurance doesn't pay out on acts of god.
Buying a Barratt house; is an act of god in its own right.
- Mickyinlondon, london
A £1,000 sweetener on a property that is over valued to the extent of 20%.
Pity the fool who falls for that one.
- Andrew, London
I have a better idea. Dont buy one of their over priced houses and move in to negative equity over the next few years .
- Dave Davies, Basingstoke, Hants
Look very carefully at any small print this policy may have. As I have recently found out PPI (Payment protection Insurance) is often worthless when you try and claim they often have exclusions which will exclude you at the time of a claim eg because business did not close because of bad debts (how about no sales so no turnover to pay people) this excludes any claims being one such example I have found.
- Mike, London England
