New Wave of Happiness for Young First-Time Buying Couple – Hyde New Homes

Meet Lucy Martin, the first-time buyer that defied the national odds and purchased her first home at 24. Since last year, the average age of a first-time buyer is 301, proving that more and more UK nationals are struggling to purchase their own home due to staggeringly high deposits and rising house prices. Thanks to Hyde New Homes’ Shared Ownership scheme, this wasn’t the case for Lucy and her fiancé Josh.

After becoming engaged last year, Lucy knew that the couple were ready to buy a home, but were worried that they wouldn’t be able to afford to and end up stuck in the rental trap. After finding out about Shared Ownership, they were keen to investigate.

Lucy comments: “We were both still living with our parents and wanted to move out but knew that we’d never be able to afford a full mortgage and if we started renting then we wouldn’t be able to properly save.”

Working for a financial company, Lucy was able to speak to an advisor from her office who suggested the option of Shared Ownership, which Lucy had never heard about. Upon her discovery, she and Josh were quick to act and found a home they both loved at the New Wave scheme in Hove. “We’d initially been looking at Help to Buy, but when we found out about Shared Ownership, we saw how much better it was for us financially. We were able to put down a £4,500 deposit for a 25 per cent share and it means we can start our future in the most financially secure way possible”.

Having been previously unsure of whether they’d be able to afford buying a home straight away, Lucy mentions that the couple weren’t getting their hopes up when looking for properties. However, when they viewed their two-bedroom apartment at New Wave, they fell in love with it straight away.  

The apartment they viewed was the last one available, meaning they didn’t have time to wait and ended up making their application on the same day. Lucy explains: “When we called to book a viewing, we were told that there was limited time to start the process of purchasing and because we didn’t want to miss out, we booked it immediately. That didn’t bother us because as soon as we viewed the apartment, we knew we had found the one.”

Lucy described the Hyde New Homes team as: “Incredibly friendly and supportive. My sales consultant answered my never-ending questions and always got back to me within the hour. It made the process clear and easy, their customer service was just excellent.”

Impressed by the spaciousness of the property alongside the abundance of natural light and prime location, the couple were thrilled with their decision: “We both work in the area and are saving so much money on commuting. We can now walk to work and also have access to great local bars and restaurants. We love going to The Modelo Lounge for dinner or The Gin Pub that has a basement nightclub and best of all, Brighton Beach is right on our doorstep!”

Despite moving in two-months ago, Lucy explains that they’re almost finished with decorating and furnishing their new home: “The good thing about buying a brand-new property is that you can really start from scratch and you’re not having to build your life into a space that doesn’t feel like it’s yours. When we went for the viewing, we could instantly see ourselves living there and couldn’t wait to begin making our mark!”

Although Shared Ownership at New Wave is now sold out, there are still a few apartments available through the help to buy scheme with pricing starting at £380,000. For further information please visit http://www.nw-hove.co.uk/  or contact 01273 950 988