Thanks to Help to Buy, a London couple will soon be saving
Thanks to the benefits of Help to Buy London, Christopher Williams (27) and fiancée Sophie Da Costa (25) will soon be saving at least £250 a month in mortgage repayments compared to their current rental costs. Their brand new three-bedroom home by Barratt Homes, at Cane Hill Park in Coulsdon, will also upsize them from their current rented two-bedroom flat giving them much more for their money.
Having rented their flat in nearby Purley for several years, first-time buyers Christopher and Sophie combined their savings and set out to get onto the housing ladder. Only expecting to be able to afford a similarly sized flat to the one they were renting, the couple were delighted to find out that Help to Buy London was available at the nearby Barratt Homes, Cane Hill Park development. Only requiring a minimum 5%, the couple were able to gain access to mortgage rates typically available with a 55% loan-to-value mortgage.
Christopher, a structural engineer comments: “It’s amazing really to think that we will be saving at least £250 a month on our mortgage to buy a three-bedroom house compared to what we have been paying for our rent in a moderate flat - and our rent could have been more than it currently is. Help to Buy London has really meant that we have been able to buy our first real home and somewhere where we can stay for more than just a couple of years. We loved the houses and hill top setting at Cane Hill Park and after doing all the sums it didn’t take us long to know it was the right move for us.”
The governments successful Help to Buy equity loan scheme was recently extended to allow more Londoners to feel the benefit of the 5% deposit requirement. With house prices considerably higher in the capital, the government recently increased its equity loan amount from 20% to 40% of the value of the property. The equity loan remains interest free for the first five years of ownership and can be repaid when the property is sold or in minimum of 10% repayments. At Barratt Homes’ Cane Hill Park development, this means that a three-bedroom house worth £522,995 can be purchased with a deposit of just £26,000.
Sophie, a financial administrator adds: “The London extension of Help to Buy has not only made our move possible but it has meant that we can buy a home that we can see ourselves living in for the foreseeable future. Without it, making a move like this just wouldn’t have happened anytime soon. The scheme also gives us plenty of time to repay the equity loan. We’ve already told some friends about it and just like us, they are now in the process of buying a house just a few doors down from us.”
The couple will be one of the first few residents to move into Barratt Homes’ Cane Hill Park development in Coulsdon. The attractive development has been popular with buyers since its launch in January with properties already selling well into next year.
Lynnette St Quintin, sales director for Barratt Southern Counties says: “Some of the headlines suggest that young people are finding it difficult to buy their first home in the Capital. However, we know that through the use of schemes such as Help to Buy London, thousands of young people like Christopher and Sophie are finding that home ownership is a more affordable option to renting. Through the 5% deposit scheme, not only are they managing to buy bigger homes which will save them moving out of a small flat in a couple of years’ time, they are making a great investment for their future.”
With a range of three-bedroom homes at Cane Hill Park available priced under the £600,000 Help to Buy threshold, the developer says they have been inundated with enquiries on these properties.
Lynnette adds: “We have a lovely range of three-bedroom houses available at Cane Hill Park which come in under the £600,000 Help to Buy London threshold. The homes have always been available with Help to Buy but since the equity loan amount has been doubled from 20% to 40%, these are now a much more affordable option and as a result are proving even more popular.”
Barratt Homes is offering a stylish range of two-, three-, four- and five-bedroom family homes, all set with the green and leafy development on the site of the former Cane Hill hospital. As well as the stylish range of homes, the existing water tower, chapel and administration buildings within the site will also be refurbished and rejuvenated, breathing new life into the historically important site.
An ideal location for commuters, nearby Coulsdon South station offers fast train services into London Victoria in just 26 minutes. Cane Hill Park is also conveniently located for London Gatwick as well as being a short distance from the M25.
View more about Cane Hill Park from Barratt Homes