With the average age of a first-time buyer in the UK now at 35, and requiring a deposit in the region of £61,000, aspiring homeowners face a long wait before being able to hold the keys to their first property.1 Bucking this trend by using the Shared Ownership scheme, young first time buyers Ellie Heritage and Tom Smith successfully managed to purchase their first home together at the age of just 21 at Maple Fields in the desirable Hampshire town of Bordon by Places for People.
Having lived between Ellie’s parents’ home in Aldershot and Tom’s parents in Farnham, Biology student, Ellie and Accounts Auditor, Tom were keen to get themselves on the property ladder and buy a property of their own, Ellie explains: “We both lived at my parents for a while, then we moved in with Tom’s parents, and although it was great, living between homes wasn’t ideal, so we were really keen to buy our own property. We looked into buying privately but we could only afford a one-bedroom flat, and whilst it is just the two of us at the moment, we already had a few pets and plans to get a dog, so this just wasn’t going to be big enough. That’s when we began looking at other options and found out about Shared Ownership from a family friend who had purchased a three-bedroom property using the scheme.”
Ellie continues: “Being able to speak to someone who had bought a Shared Ownership property and endorsed the scheme, gave us the motivation to start our own search. We had noticed there were a lot of new build developments being built in and around the local area, and many were available to buy with Shared Ownership. We registered our details with a few of the ones we liked, unfortunately we missed out on a few as we didn’t meet the eligibility criteria. Then we received a phone call from Places for People and found out about Maple Fields in Bordon – we arranged to go and visit the development the same day. We viewed a two-bedroom show home and knew almost straightaway that it was perfect for us; we already knew how lovely the local area is having visited nearby Hogmoor Enclosure for walks, plenty of local shops nearby, good schools and parks.”
Using Shared Ownership with Places for People, Ellie and Tom purchased a two-bedroom semi-detached house, Ellie explains more about the purchase process: “We purchased a 45% share and put down a deposit of £22,000 on our home which had a full market value of £315,000. This is a much lower amount than if we were to buy a private sale property – we pay £413 monthly mortgage payment and £420 in rent, and also tied ourselves into a two-year fixed term mortgage rate so we are secure in what we are paying each month. The process was really easy and Janice from the sales team was really helpful.”
“We have both been good at saving money; Tom had a paper round and saved all his money, at 13 I worked as a gymnastics coach assistant and saved all the money I earnt, at 16 got a job at TK Maxx, and I bought my first car when I was 17. By the time we decided to buy a property together we were in a position to be able to put down a good deposit. By using Shared Ownership, we have been able to buy a bigger property in an area that otherwise would have been unaffordable. We now also have our dog too! A beautiful cocker spaniel called Mabel.”
Talking about the local area and the wider community at Maple Fields, Ellie says; “The development is really nice, there is lots of green areas here too. The neighbours are lovely; we often organise regular get togethers and we have a Facebook group which everyone can feed into. The children play outside together and ride around on their bikes – it’s so nice to see and brings back memories of when I was younger. We can walk over to The Shed in about 15 minutes, it’s a funky warehouse space with lots of different places to eat and shop, there is a big Tesco superstore and a few takeaway places nearby – we have everything we need on our doorstep. If we want to go somewhere nice for the day, Guildford is a 30-minute drive away or you can get to Winchester in about 40 minutes.”
Talking about how they are both enjoying living in their new home, Ellie explains: “The house is really bright, spacious and open. We love the kitchen, it’s a really good size and there is plenty of cupboard space too. There is lots of storage space, including a huge understairs cupboard – so everything can be kept clear and tidy. We have got a really good size garden which came with its own shed which was a nice surprise! We also have 3 rabbits and 2 African pygmy hedgehogs, as well as Mabel, so there is plenty of space for them outside. We have a nice little patio area which is perfect when the weather is nice, and we have our own driveway with space for two cars – there is also visitor’s parking spaces which is really handy when we have friends or family come to visit us.”
Sharing their thoughts about Shared Ownership, Ellie explains: “The Shared Ownership scheme has been very beneficial for us. For first time buyers like Tom and I who are unable to secure the mortgage they need to buy the property they would like, the scheme enables you to get onto the property ladder and use it as a stepping stone to move on and buy privately, or staircase to a bigger share. For us, it has given us the freedom to move out of our family homes and enjoy our own space together and are still only a short drive away from both our families. We are really looking forward to putting our own stamp on our house and would definitely recommend the Shared Ownership scheme to friends and family – it’s a great way to open the property market affordably.”
All homes at Maple Fields are now reserved. For more information about the new collection of Shared homes at the nearby development Whistle Wood in Bordon, please visit:
https://placesforpeople.co.uk/find-a-home/whistle-wood-bordon/
or call 01420 730032.