Following years of renting and a lockdown spent without access to outdoor space, Juliet Aitken, a personal assistant, had decided that 2021 was the year to move in by herself \u2013 and began looking to buy her first home in December 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy initial search started and ended fairly abruptly \u2013 I kept getting turned down due to affordability. It seemed like you either had to be making more than the average person or have a joint income, and I just wondered how are single people supposed to buy homes?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Living and working in west London, Juliet was keen to move a bit further north to be closer to family \u2013 an area she recognises is not known for its affordability. Encouraged by a family friend, she started her property hunt again in the new year.<\/p>\n","cta_link_type":"none","cta_link":null,"cta_file":false,"cta_email":"","cta_link_text":"Find Out More"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_media","text_media_background_colour":"primary","component_margins":[],"text_media_alignment":"left","text_media_media_type":"image","text_media_image":false,"text_media_gallery":false,"text_media_youtube":null,"text_media_tour_url":"","text_media_title":"","text_media_text":" \u201cI viewed two developments \u2013 one overlooked a carpark which wasn\u2019t very nice, and the other wasn\u2019t in the right part of London.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWhen I decided to view at L&Q at Ridgeway Views, I had a feeling this was the one. It was an amazing sunny day and when I stepped out of the train station, I just knew this was it. Ayse from the L&Q sales team showed me three apartments, and when I came in the door of this one, I knew I had to have it \u2013 this one was mine!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t know much about Shared Ownership so, I did my research \u2013 when I turned up to the appointment Ayse couldn\u2019t believe I had no questions. I had informed myself and made sure I understood what I was getting into to make sure it was the right decision for me. <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cShared Ownership seems to be aimed at normal people with normal incomes – it was the monthly affordability and the low deposit that just made sense.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","cta_link_type":"none","cta_link":null,"cta_file":false,"cta_email":"","cta_link_text":"Find Out More"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_media","text_media_background_colour":"primary","component_margins":[],"text_media_alignment":"right","text_media_media_type":"image","text_media_image":false,"text_media_gallery":false,"text_media_youtube":null,"text_media_tour_url":"","text_media_title":"","text_media_text":" But with a recovering market, banks were still being overly cautious with their lending, especially to first time buyers.<\/p>\n \u201cAs I was trying to buy when there were still very few mortgage options, I really struggled to find a mortgage with a reasonable interest rate – all the big banks were just saying no to me and the smaller building societies had really high interest rates, it meant it didn\u2019t make financial sense. <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAfter seeing what my options were and comparing, I went direct to my bank who I\u2019ve been with for years and years \u2013 they were so helpful and helped me see that a bigger deposit (which I\u2019d earmarked for furnishings) would make a big difference to the interest rate.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Juliet bought 25% of a one bedroom L&Q apartment at Ridgeway Views \u2013 a brand new development set within the Mill Hill conservation area on a hilltop overlooking the fields of Totteridge Valley. Surrounded by greenery, residents enjoy 24\/7 concierge, resident\u2019s gym & parking, with one and two bedroom homes available through Shared Ownership.<\/p>\n","cta_link_type":"none","cta_link":null,"cta_file":false,"cta_email":"","cta_link_text":"Find Out More"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_media","text_media_background_colour":"primary","component_margins":[],"text_media_alignment":"left","text_media_media_type":"image","text_media_image":{"ID":229,"id":229,"title":"023_HiRes_RidgewayViews_DJI_0942_LQ-min","filename":"023_HiRes_RidgewayViews_DJI_0942_LQ-min-e1625149742627.jpg","filesize":512253,"url":"https:\/\/lqhomes.com\/kewbridgerise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/250\/2021\/07\/023_HiRes_RidgewayViews_DJI_0942_LQ-min-e1625149742627.jpg","link":"https:\/\/lqhomes.com\/kewbridgerise\/local-area\/023_hires_ridgewayviews_dji_0942_lq-min\/","alt":"","author":"78","description":"","caption":"","name":"023_hires_ridgewayviews_dji_0942_lq-min","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":3,"date":"2021-07-01 14:28:15","modified":"2021-07-01 14:28:15","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/lqhomes.com\/kewbridgerise\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1945,"height":737,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/lqhomes.com\/kewbridgerise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/250\/2021\/07\/023_HiRes_RidgewayViews_DJI_0942_LQ-min-e1625149742627-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/lqhomes.com\/kewbridgerise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/250\/2021\/07\/023_HiRes_RidgewayViews_DJI_0942_LQ-min-e1625149742627-300x114.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":114,"medium_large":"https:\/\/lqhomes.com\/kewbridgerise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/250\/2021\/07\/023_HiRes_RidgewayViews_DJI_0942_LQ-min-e1625149742627-768x291.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":291,"large":"https:\/\/lqhomes.com\/kewbridgerise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/250\/2021\/07\/023_HiRes_RidgewayViews_DJI_0942_LQ-min-e1625149742627-1024x388.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":388,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/lqhomes.com\/kewbridgerise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/250\/2021\/07\/023_HiRes_RidgewayViews_DJI_0942_LQ-min-e1625149742627-1536x582.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":582,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/lqhomes.com\/kewbridgerise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/250\/2021\/07\/023_HiRes_RidgewayViews_DJI_0942_LQ-min-e1625149742627.jpg","2048x2048-width":1945,"2048x2048-height":737,"banner":"https:\/\/lqhomes.com\/kewbridgerise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/250\/2021\/07\/023_HiRes_RidgewayViews_DJI_0942_LQ-min-1980x1113.jpg","banner-width":1980,"banner-height":1113,"floorplan":"https:\/\/lqhomes.com\/kewbridgerise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/250\/2021\/07\/023_HiRes_RidgewayViews_DJI_0942_LQ-min-e1625149742627-1200x455.jpg","floorplan-width":1200,"floorplan-height":455,"text_media":"https:\/\/lqhomes.com\/kewbridgerise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/250\/2021\/07\/023_HiRes_RidgewayViews_DJI_0942_LQ-min-e1625149742627-590x224.jpg","text_media-width":590,"text_media-height":224,"card-sm":"https:\/\/lqhomes.com\/kewbridgerise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/250\/2021\/07\/023_HiRes_RidgewayViews_DJI_0942_LQ-min-e1625149742627-290x170.jpg","card-sm-width":290,"card-sm-height":170,"featured-plots-thumbnail":"https:\/\/lqhomes.com\/kewbridgerise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/250\/2021\/07\/023_HiRes_RidgewayViews_DJI_0942_LQ-min-e1625149742627-680x258.jpg","featured-plots-thumbnail-width":680,"featured-plots-thumbnail-height":258}},"text_media_gallery":false,"text_media_youtube":null,"text_media_tour_url":"","text_media_title":"","text_media_text":" Moving into her new home in early July, Juliet has already been enjoying her local area and the greenery.<\/p>\n \u201cI went into Mill Hill Broadway last week for the first time and it\u2019s a nice area with some lovely caf\u00e9’s. Finchley nurseries is around the corner and I have already bought some jasmine! <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt gets greener and greener as you get towards L&Q at Ridgeway Views \u2013 that\u2019s what really struck me, it\u2019s so green here. There are also ponds with ducks!<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a complete haven and has its own community. I just had a good feeling and went with my gut and I\u2019m so glad I did.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","cta_link_type":"none","cta_link":null,"cta_file":false,"cta_email":"","cta_link_text":"Find Out More"}]},"yoast_head":"\n