Couple swap renting for a home of their own thanks to Help to Buy
Sarah was so taken by the characterful design of the Arts & Crafts inspired Heritage Collection properties from WhatHouse? Award winner Redrow Homes that she called up and paid a deposit before she had even spoken to her partner.
Luckily, partner Steve agreed that the properties at Lime Tree Meadows in Shrewsbury ticked all of the boxes on their wish list. The couple used the government-backed scheme, Help to Buy and they moved into their new home earlier this year.
Sarah and Steve had been renting a flat in Shrewbury for the last three years, and originally thought about renting somewhere bigger, but after seeing the prices, the couple agreed that owning a property might be more beneficial.
Sarah says: “We had no intention of buying a new build. We wanted an older property with character, so it’s rather fitting that we love this place now precisely because it has character.”
Prior to seeing Redrow’s homes they’d even put an offer on an older property, but are now pleased that didn’t work out.
Sarah explains: “The price range we were looking at meant it was really difficult as there were lots of other people interested in the properties we viewed and they were getting snapped up.”
“My dad mentioned new build and I didn’t even want to look but I went onto Redrow’s website and saw that the nearest show homes were in Shifnal. Within about an hour I had driven to see them and while I was there I rang Lime Tree Meadows, in Shrewsbury, to put a deposit down without even speaking to Steve because I loved what I had seen.”
Steve adds: “Redrow’s homes have more character than other new builds we had seen. The rooms are bigger and the ceilings are higher. They ticked all of the boxes of the things we’d seen in older properties. As soon as we locked eyes on them we couldn’t believe it. We didn’t realise that a house like this would be within our budget or that we could use Help to Buy. It made a massive difference and we wouldn’t have been able to afford a house like this without it.”
Help to Buy enabled them to purchase a three-bedroom semi-detached Ludlow style with just a 5% deposit. The government then provides a 20% equity loan, which is interest free for five year, so Sarah and Steve only needed to find a 75% mortgage.
Their new home features an open-plan kitchen/dining room to the rear, with a separate lounge to the front. The family bathroom is complemented by en-suite to master bedroom, plus downstairs cloakroom.
Sarah, a 29-year-old head teacher, says: “In many houses the third bedroom is traditionally a box room, but this one isn’t. There are lots of other little touches that make this significantly better than anything else we’d seen as the finish is a really high quality.”
One of the advantages of owning their own home is that it gives them greater freedom to choose the décor.
Steve, 32, who works in furniture sales says: “We have made it our own with the choices that were available from Redrow and that’s something we wouldn’t have been able to do in an older property. The whole experience has been amazing and Redrow have been top drawer at every stage. We can’t speak highly enough about Redrow and have been recommending that friends buy too.”
The selection of homes at Lime Tree Meadows includes three-, four- and five-bedroom detached homes, priced from £324,995.
Find out more about Lime Tree Meadows from Redrow Homes