To find out more about Ashlawn Rise, click here
The Next Step Together with Shared Ownership
November 2022
After living apart for the duration of their relationship, Tom and Liam decided they were ready for the next step and wanted to find a home of their own. Now happily living together with their dog in L&Q’s Ashlawn Rise development, the couple explain why they know they made the right decision.
Liam explains: “We didn’t think we would be able to afford a home we loved on the open market, but we were both at the age where we really wanted to have our own space, so when Shared Ownership with L&Q popped up down the road, we knew this was our opportunity.”
“We started looking for a property in July 2021, but we were worried about being able to afford anywhere on the open market following the pandemic – prices had all gone up and it didn’t look like it would be doable. We didn’t know about Shared Ownership before we began our search, but I saw a social media post from L&Q one day, and it was advertising Shared Ownership at Ashlawn Rise. We realised that using the scheme would be the perfect way for us to buy our first home with a smaller deposit.”
Tom and Liam have recently purchased a 55% share of a two-bedroom house at Ashlawn Rise from L&Q, for £115,000 (full market value: £230,000).
They first visited the development in October 2021 and knew straight away that they wanted it to be their future home. Liam comments: ‘We fell in love with the show-home from the second we walked in – we even sent a load of pictures to our friends straight after our viewing. It wasn’t just the show-home that sold it for us, we also really loved the location – it’s just five minutes down the road from Tom’s parents, and we know this is somewhere we can see ourselves long-term. There are plenty of amenities nearby, with a supermarket just one-minute away, and a lane that leads into the centre of Rugby.”
Commenting on the sales process, Liam emphasised how smooth he found purchasing with L&Q. He says: “As well as being incredibly speedy, we found the buying process easy. The sales team at L&Q were very friendly and kept us in the loop with regular updates. We know house purchases are, in general, a stressful experience, but L&Q made the buying process feel very straightforward.’
After a quick turnaround, Tom and Liam moved into their home at Ashlawn Rise in February 2022. Liam comments: ‘We moved in earlier this year, and still love it as much as we did on our first viewing. We adore being surrounded by fields, and our street is designed in a ‘horseshoe’ shape, which has really created a lovely community feel. There are plenty of places for countryside walks, which our adopted ten-year old Staffordshire Bull Terrier loves, as she can run around off the lead!”
“Once we got the keys, we started decorating straight away. We took inspiration from our favourite parts of the show-home, placing a chair in the corner of the living room to make the most of the space! We also love the garden in our new house – we spent a lot of time out there over the summer. Our dog also loves having space to play at home, whether inside or out!”
Looking to the future, the pair comments: ‘We definitely want to staircase up to 100% – that’s always been our long-term plan. Maybe in the future we’ll sell the property once we own it all, but right now it suits us perfectly. Saying that, if we continue to love it as much as we did at the start, I don’t think we’ll be leaving anytime soon!’
