After hopping around rental properties for several years, David and his wife, Toni, knew they wanted to get onto the property ladder when their son was born, but weren’t sure that they could afford to buy on the open market. With both of them key workers at the time, David and Toni were made aware of the possibility of Shared Ownership. David says:
Shared Ownership Helped us buy our First Family Home
“We’d fallen foul of the traps of renting a few times. We used to rent a 3 bedroom house and then one day the landlord told us that he’d sold it and we had a month to get out. Once Samuel was born, we knew wanted to find somewhere more permanent, where we could put down roots and not worry about moving.”
“We looked at buying on the open market originally but saving for a deposit with a newborn baby and Toni on maternity leave pay seemed insurmountable. We knew we wanted to stay close to Chelmsford to be near our friends and work, but we were priced out of the city centre. I was working for the police at the time and one of my colleagues suggested that I look at Shared Ownership because there were various Key Worker mortgages available.”
David and Toni have recently purchased a 25% share of a three-bedroom house through L&Q’s Shared Ownership scheme at Beaulieu, Chelmsford.
David explains how he discovered their future home in Metro and things started clicking into place straight away:
“I was reading Metro one day and saw L&Q’s Shared Ownership homes at Beaulieu mentioned in an article. I realised that Beaulieu is literally 10 minutes outside of town; you’ve got good road links, a train line coming in the next couple of years and a bus route from Beaulieu to Chelmsford – it was a no brainer! We’d get a Chelmsford life without living in the centre of Chelmsford!”
Thrilled with their new home, David describes what attracted the family to Beaulieu:
“One of the big things that drew us Beaulieu is the community. It’s a bit like living in Centre Parcs – you go for a walk around the development and you know everyone; we’re even on a first name basis with the shop workers. There’s a new community centre and a parade of shops all centred around a lovely little square, and there are beautiful green open spaces for bike rides and walking in the summer.”
“There’s also a school on site, which we’d definitely consider for Samuel later down the line. Not only is it convenient for us but chances are we’ll know all the other parents and children there because he will have grown up with them in the neighbourhood!”
“We have a 3 bedroom house now. It’s exactly what we needed – two parking spaces, a nice big garden for the little man and three good-sized bedrooms. Not too big or too small, but enough space for growth. Best of all, because it’s a new build, it’s a clean slate for us put our own stamp on. It’s really beginning to feel like home now.”
Looking ahead, David and Toni know they’ll be staying at Beaulieu long-term: “We definitely want to staircase, absolutely. Our ultimate plan is to staircase to outright ownership.”
“We’re really happy to be here. Shared Ownership made it a lot easier to get on the property ladder, we couldn’t have done it any other way.”