Allsopp recruited to help FTBs

22-Oct-2007

The Conservative Party has secured the assistance of Location, Location, Location presenter Kirstie Allsopp as part of its efforts to better understand just how first time buyers are struggling to get onto the first rung of the property ladder.

The party is to set up a website which will encourage members of the public to send in details of their own experiences as well as advice on how the situation can be improved and rising house prices combatted.

Ms Allsopp, meanwhile, is remaining resolute in her defence of first time buyers, and insisting that she herself has no particular political affiliation.

"I vote home-buyer, it's as simple as that. I think I have a responsibility to do this. I'll go with the politicians who make this process easier, because at the moment it is massively stressful for people," she told the Observer.

"If I had had a call from John Prescott or Ruth Kelly or Yvette Cooper, saying, come and talk to us, if they had realised the Hips (home information packs) were a mistake, I would have done so," she added.

Hips themselves have again been the focus of controversy of late, with the Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP) heckling governmental minister Iain Wright off the stage at the AHIPP annual conference last week.

Mr Wright had given a speech at the event but refused to set a date for the full-scale rollout of the packs, which currently are only required for those selling homes with three or more bedrooms.

Minister heckled over Hips
http://www.firstrungnow.com/first-time-buyer-news/minister-heckled-over-3574.aspx

First time buyers 'will be indifferent to Hips'
http://www.firstrungnow.com/first-time-buyer-news/first-time-buyers-will-3520.aspx

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