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Putin suggests special mortgage programme for schoolteachers

The prime minister instructed the Mortgage Loan Agency to study the proposal

CHEREPOVETS, September 5 (Itar-Tass) —— Prime Minister Vladimir Putin suggested solving housing problems of schoolteachers through a special mortgage programme with low interest rates.

In his opinion, such programme should require the lowest interest rate and the smallest down payment. He also suggested lifting income restrictions for applicants to allow more people to enrol. Currently, banks judge an applicant’s creditworthiness by his salary.

“The current interest rate is about 13-14 percent. We suggest making it 8.5 percent. The down payment now is 20 percent, we suggest no more than 10 percent. And I think it would be right for regions to make the down payment themselves,” Putin said at an inter-regional conference of the ruling United Russia party in Cherepovets on Monday, September 5.

He believes that this mortgage programme should be open to specialists under the age of 35, of whom where are 50,000-60,000 people, who make up 22 percent of all teachers.

The prime minister instructed the Mortgage Loan Agency to study the proposal.

Another tool that can help improve housing conditions for young teachers would be housing cooperatives. But unlike the “school mortgage” programme, cooperatives will be open to all schoolteachers.

The Housing Construction Fund will provide land for development by such cooperatives free of charge, while regions could pay for connection to utilities networks, Putin said.