Swapping Shared Ownership For Private Sale In Hackney

Having purchased her first home at Woodberry Down in Hackney four years ago via Shared Ownership, advertising director Ilona Lubojemska has now bought her next home at the same development, this time through private sale.

She initially purchased 35% of her first property, a one-bedroom apartment, with a £30,000 deposit but over the next four years, was able to buy more shares (a process known as staircasing) until she owned 100% of her home. At that point, Ilona decided to upsize while staying in the neighbourhood.

She explained: “The Zone 2 location, local neighbourhood and incredible reservoir views at Woodberry Down are unmatched and I knew I wanted to stay in the same place but just wanted something larger.”

After selling her one-bedroom apartment, Ilona arranged a viewing of a two-bedroom apartment at the Nature Collection, one of the more recent phases of waterside homes at Woodberry Down, which was considerably larger than her previous apartment. She was sold on the incredible views over Woodberry Down’s landmark reservoirs from the balcony and put in an offer on the same night.

She said: “My buying experience was a very quick and smooth process. Berkeley was very understanding with some issues which arose with my previous apartment sale and were flexible with my moving in date which helped hugely.”

Since moving into her new home, Ilona has been enjoying the views and extra space that it provides. She is looking forward to her family visiting from Poland and being able to show them around her friendly neighbourhood.

She continued: “Coming home from work after a stressful day and being able to enjoy the open green spaces and the water is a great experience. The development has countless amenities and facilities – like the gym, swimming pool and concierge – which are a great added bonus for me as I have such a busy lifestyle.”

The accessibility of the development to central London also played a very important role in Ilona’s buying process. Located just minutes away from Manor House tube station, which is in Zone 2 on the Piccadilly Line, residents can reach King’s Cross station in eight minutes, Covent Garden in 16 minutes and The City in 20 minutes.

Woodberry Down is a new urban community with an eclectic mix of local shops, cafés, schools, a health centre and restaurants on your doorstep. Stoke Newington is close by, also offering a variety of shops, bars, cafés, pubs, restaurants and a regular Farmers’ Market.

Woodberry Down covers 64 acres, including 15 acres of parkland and the East and West Reservoirs. New areas of public space within the development include a river walk and a children’s park, as well as the nearby Woodberry Wetlands, a popular urban oasis where a wide range of wildlife thrives.

For those looking to purchase a new home at Woodberry Down, The Westacre phase comprises one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and represents one of the last opportunities to purchase an apartment overlooking the West Reservoir at Woodberry Down.

The newly launched Townhouse Collection offers a rare opportunity to buy a much sought-after, three- or four-bedroom townhouse in this predominately apartment-focused scheme.

Prices start from £525,000 for a one-bedroom apartment and from £1.5million for a three-bedroom townhouse.

Find out more about Woodberry Down from Berkeley.

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