Help to Buy in Basingstoke with Barratt Homes 

Help to Buy is now in its sixth year, and has helped thousands of buyers purchase a brand-new home for less upfront cost.

Although available to all new homebuyers, its main beneficiaries have been first-time buyers, who like Rhys Williams and fiancée Charlotte Slingsby, both 28, have been able to buy their first home with Barratt Homes at its Chapel Gate development in Basingstoke, thanks to the scheme.

The soon-to-be-married couple purchased their brand new home at Chapel Gate with the support of Help to Buy last year, allowing them to buy their property with just a 5% deposit. Having paid £800 in rent for a one-bedroom flat in Basingstoke for several years, they now only pay an additional £200 a month and instead own a three-bedroom family home. By paying the 5% deposit, the couple were then able to access the Help to Buy equity loan and have benefited from mortgage rates more typically associated with a 75% loan to value mortgage.

Rhys, an IT consultant, says: “We had been renting our flat for years and managing to put a little aside every month to save for a house deposit.  It wasn’t going to be enough to buy anything near what we had hoped for and we were on track to buy a property like the size of the one we were renting. Then we discovered Help to Buy at Chapel Gate and realised that our money was going to be able to go a lot further and that we could actually afford a three-bedroom house. For us this made a lot of sense and now means that we won’t need to move again in a couple of years’ time.”

The couple, who are now planning to get married later this year, believe that buying a home was an important part of investing in their own future.

Rhys adds: “Help to Buy has given us a great start and we could not be more grateful for this opportunity which has enabled us to buy. Renting just seemed like a waste of money to us and we were keen to start making an investment in our future. Once we bought the house it seemed like the right time to start thinking about getting married.”

Purchasing at Chapel Gate, the latest new town centre development by Barratt Homes and Vivid Homes in Basingstoke, the couple are delighted with their new home.

Charlotte says: “In addition to its availability with Help to Buy, we were keen to buy a newly built home as we wouldn’t need to do any work to it or be faced with any costly repairs. As we were one of the first people to buy at Chapel Gate, we were also able to choose many of our own choices including floorings, tiles and other finishes. This was a really nice touch and has meant that our new home feels really like ours.”

Chapel Gate features 578 new homes, ranging from one- and two-bedroom apartments to three- and four-bedroom family homes. Basingstoke’s well-known Eli Lilly factory is being transformed as part of the project.

Lynnette St Quintin, sales director for Barratt Southern Counties comments: “It is clear from the hundreds of buyers we see at our developments that Help to Buy makes a real difference when buying a home. For some it makes the difference between buying or not and for others it means being able to buy a bigger home and one that they will be able to enjoy living in for longer. Chapel Gate has certainly welcomed many Help to Buy purchasers since we launched the development two years ago, helping them to buy a superb new home in a fantastic and appealing town centre location.”

Currently available at Chapel Gate are a range of one- and two-bedroom homes, with prices starting from £231,995 for a spacious two-bedroom apartment perfect for first-time buyers.

Find out more about Chapel Gate from Barratt Homes