By Simon Binns
Ask Life is trying to tempt potential buyers into its abito scheme Manchester city centre with a £3,500 head start on their deposit.
Ask is offering the chance to rent an apartment for six months then use the money they have paid as a deposit should they then decide to buy. Rent starts at around £600 per month in the 256-apartment scheme, with 24 still the market. Prices to buy start from £135,000.
Sian Pitt, head of sales at Ask Life, says: “With so many first-time buyers struggling at the moment, we thought by adding this extra incentive we can really give them the chance to get their foot on the property ladder.
“By renting to start off with, they can have the opportunity to ‘try before they buy’ and see if they can handle the payments and responsibility of owning before they commit to a long-term decision”