Help To Buy At Chelmsford Scheme
Following a recent event at its Novello development off Victoria Road, Bellway is welcoming visitors to see the range of one- and two-bedroom apartments there.
Located on the site of the former Royal Mail sorting depot, Novello will eventually comprise of a total of 203 apartments across four buildings, set within landscaped grounds. The development will also include a pocket park and podium gardens.
Jenny Walker, sales director for Bellway Essex, said: “We have seen a huge demand from first-time buyers at Novello. Due to the convenient city centre location and the major investment that is being made in the area. Most apartments currently for sale at Novello can be purchased with Help to Buy. Visitors will also get the first opportunity to reserve one of the homes in the latest block of apartments, with exclusive deals available on selected plots.”
Help to Buy enables first-time buyers to secure a new-build home with a 5% deposit and a 75% mortgage. The remaining 20% is provided in the form of a government-backed equity loan, which is interest free for the first five years.
The scheme, which runs until March 2023, is now only available to first-time buyers and on homes which do not exceed the regional price cap, which is £407,400 in the East of England.
Right now, prices at Novello start at £239,995 for a one-bedroom apartment and £337,995 for a two-bedroom apartment. All of them have an open-plan living/kitchen/dining room and modern bathrooms, some also have a private balcony. The interior specification includes soft-close kitchen units, integrated hob, oven and fridge-freezer, white bathroom sanitaryware, tiled bathroom walls and a video entry system.
Find out more at bellway.co.uk.
Case study: Luke
Luke Robbertse, a technology operations manager who moved to the UK from South Africa for work in 2017, has bought a two-bedroom property at Novello after renting a one-bedroom apartment in nearby Bond Street for just over two-and-a-half years.
The 33-year-old said: “Using Help to Buy meant that the amount that I’ll be paying for my mortgage on my new property will be around the same that I have been paying in rent every month – so it just made sense to buy. I could buy the home that I really wanted, so I didn’t have to settle for less. Having that extra space will make it a lot easier for me as I can have an office in my second bedroom.
“The second bedroom also means that I won’t have to sleep on the sofa whenever my family come to visit, and it also means that it will be easier when I meet someone and want to start a family of my own.
“The Novello development is in a brilliant location. It is close to where I work, and it’s only a couple of minutes away from a leisure centre. There are some great lush green spaces around too. It’s also only five minutes from the train station and the High Street, so it is all very convenient. The development is so close to everything that I won’t need to buy a car, which will save me a lot of money – and it’s healthier walking and cycling everywhere.”
Luke’s buying experience was a positive one, with the first-time buyer praising the Bellway staff for how they conducted the sales process. He said: “My buying experience was really, really good and super easy. Buying a new build meant that it was a nice and quick process which was really convenient. The staff at Novello didn’t try and push me into anything. I didn’t expect it to be so easy.”