Help to Buy Wales Makes Home Dream Come True For Cardiff Couple

Mathew and Rebecca had been renting together in Cardiff for five years, but thanks to Help to Buy Wales, they have been able to get on the property ladder.

Mathew, who works as a physiotherapist for Ospreys Rugby Club and Rebecca, a nurse, have been able to purchase a three-bedroom home at the development, by using the scheme which allows buyers to purchase a new home with a 5% deposit.

The Help to Buy Wales scheme was launched in January 2014, and has so far been used in the purchase of over 5,800 new homes in Wales. The scheme allows buyers to purchase a new home with a 5% deposit and a 75% mortgage, with the remaining 20% provided in the form of an equity loan which is interest free for the first five years of home ownership.

Mathew said being able to put down a smaller deposit on a new home is what made them decide to utilise the scheme.

He said: “We’d been renting ever since we both left university in Cardiff which was about five years ago, and we were getting to the point where we were on the periphery of being able to afford a home of our own.

“Originally we were torn between buying a new build home and finding an older property which we could do up ourselves. However, once we found out about Help to Buy Wales we thought it was too good an opportunity to turn down really.

“The 5% deposit has given us more money to spend on other things for the house, and everything in the home is ready from day one, so we’ve not had to spend extra on redecorating or renovating either, which has made it a lot less hassle.”

With Mathew working in Swansea and Rebecca working in Cardiff, location was key to their decision to moving to St Lythans Park.

Mathew said: “We’ve both enjoyed living in Cardiff, it’s lively and there’s lots of different things for us to do. With me working in Swansea and Bec still working in Cardiff, we wanted to find somewhere on the outskirts which meant we could still get into Cardiff easily, but also have good access to the M4 to make it easier for me to get to work.

“We’ve both settled into our new home now and it’s gone really well so far. We really like the kitchen in our new home and is somewhere where we spend a lot of time.

“Bellway have been great. We had a couple of small issues on our snagging list which is to be expected, but the site staff made sure these were all put right within 24 hours of us raising them, which we were really pleased with.”