1% Deposit Gets First-Time Buyers Onto The Ladder
Fairview New Homes has welcomed the first successful applicants of its Save to Buy scheme into their new homes at Fairview’s Epping Gate development in Essex.
Two of these applicants are joint buyers Eleonora, a 32-year-old executive assistant and Stan, a 27-year-old letting agent. The young first-time buyer couple previously renting in Essex saw the scheme on TikTok and enquired the same day. After a viewing at Epping Gate they had the keys to their new home within three weeks. Eleonora says: “It’s crazy – a couple of months ago our dream of owning our own home seemed so far away. Now, by the time November (2023) rolls around, we’ll have saved the entire 5% deposit and officially be homeowners, all while living in our new home and not spending a single penny on rent.”
11,139 people have registered interest following the launch of Fairview’s Save to Buy initiative, as it enables first-time buyers to save for their deposit via fixed monthly payments while living in their new home rent free, aiding them to escape the rental cycle.
Eleonora and Stan had £9,000 saved, which amounted to a 2.65% deposit on a one-bed apartment costing £339,000. Moving into their Epping Gate property rent-free with Fairview’s Save to Buy scheme, they’re now saving £1,100 a month on rent, while putting £1,590 a month towards a deposit with the aim to buy within five months, by which point they’ll have saved a 5% deposit totalling £16,950.
According to a national survey commissioned by Fairview, 79% of renters in the UK and 83% in London feel the cost of renting is negatively impacting their ability to save for a house deposit, and 64% blame the cost of rent for saving little or nothing at all towards a house deposit.
Eleonora adds: “The main thing for us was to escape the unpredictable rental market; we thought that by buying we could invest our money in something that would one day be ours, rather than keep paying landlords. Depending on expenses and living costs, to have achieved a 10% deposit it probably would have been two to three years before we could confidently buy a property if it wasn’t for Save to Buy.”
Save to Buy has also acted as an avenue for first-time buyers to discover other schemes available to them via Fairview, including Deposit Unlock.
Chris Hood, sales and marketing director at Fairview, reveals how expert advice has been essential in helping first-time buyers unlock their home buying potential: “We’ve received a far higher volume of registrations than expected; we knew there would be demand given the rental market right now, but the level of enquiries has kept our team very busy! We’ve also seen that there’s a real hunger for knowledge and advice too. Through speaking to those who initially believed their only option for buying was through the Save to Buy scheme, we discovered many first-time buyers are completely unaware of other options, such as Deposit Unlock, that are available to them. Since the start of the year, we have helped four people purchase through Deposit Unlock, which enables buyers to purchase with just 5% deposit. This is in addition to our new Epping Gate residents who are now well on their way to owning their own home by the end of the year thanks to Save to Buy.”
Speaking at the Save to Buy launch event in February, tv presenter and property guru Phil Spencer says: “There is an issue with housing in this country that’s only going to get worse with house prices heading one way and the population continuing to grow. This scheme can only be a good thing – Fairview get to sell houses and first-time buyers have a way onto the property ladder and out of the rental market. The scheme creates a genuine solution for first-time buyers and I don’t think it’ll be long until we see other housebuilders up and down the country following suit.”
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