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How did we do in the Budget?

HOUSING

Scheme to guarantee mortgage-backed securities to boost lending

• Stamp duty holiday for homes up to £175,000 to be extended to end of year

• Extra £80m for shared equity mortgage scheme

• £500m to kick-start stalled housing projects - including £100m for local authorities to build energy efficient homes

• £50m to upgrade housing for the armed forces

The Chancellor, Alistair Darling, has delivered his Budget for 2009.

The measures are part of the government's efforts to drag the economy out of the deepest recession since World War II. But how will the Budget affect you?

Any help for home buyers?

Yes. The current stamp duty holiday is being extended to the end of 2009. That means anyone who buys a home for less than £175,000 will, until then, continue to pay no stamp duty on their transaction.

I am worried about my home being repossessed

The scheme that lets you claim state benefits to help you pay interest on your mortgage - Income Support for Mortgage Interest (ISMI) - is being extended so the support lasts for an extra six months.



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