A state mortgage program with an annual interest of only 1% will be one of the first legislative initiatives that presidential candidate Natalia Morari will submit once she is elected to office, IPN reports.

According to the candidate’s Information and Media Service, the program offers accessible solutions for young people and the diaspora, helping to reduce the exodus and encouraging the return of those who left.

The program enables to regulate prices on the real estate market and provides an advantageous lending system. More precisely, inspired by a successful model from the 1090s, the National Bank will offer commercial banks low-interest financial resources (0.5% per year) in order to facilitate access to mortgages.

Natalia Morari also proposes to create the National Mortgage Agency, which will be responsible for offering mortgages directly to citizens, taking over risks from commercial banks and ensuring the stability of the real estate market. The National Mortgage Agency will become the lender of last resort for real estate market participants.

Under the mortgage program initiated by Natalia Morari, the interest rate on mortgages for separate houses will be fixed – 1% annually in lei. “No additional fees will be charged and there will be no age restrictions. That is the limit will not be the age of up to 45 years. A document confirming the existence of a permanent job, a business or a pension will be enough,” said the presidential candidate.

According to Morari, for the citizens who will not live on the territory of the country for more than 180 days, such documents will not be necessary. However, they will have to assume responsibility that, within one year from the purchase of the property, they will stay in the country for more than 180 days and will either be employed or open their own business. The down payment will not exceed 10% of the value of the home. Participants in this program will be able to sell the mortgaged home without the lender’s permission, only with the lender’s notification.

There will be created a register of reliable construction companies from which citizens can purchase apartments under construction with the agency’s guarantee. In addition, the agency will be able to grant mortgages for the purchase of future apartments from companies put in the trust register.

Through this program, Natalia Morari aims to facilitate access to housing for young people who are in the country and to offer the diaspora a chance to return and live in conditions similar to those existing in other countries.