Make the move from living with parents to first home with partner through Shared Ownershipng in Wandsworth
For James and Annabelle, Shared Ownership has opened the doors to becoming homeowners and now they are keen to encourage others to do the same. The young couple has been enjoying the flexibility, independence, and opportunity that has come since purchasing their dream home at Willow Walk in Wandsworth.
Despite the increasing cost of living and rising interest rates, the young couple managed to take a huge leap from living separately with their parents to living together and owning a 25% share of their new one-bedroom apartment in South West London.
James comments: “Before our new home, I lived with my parents in Milton Keynes and Annabelle lived with hers in Surrey, so we were keen to move out and start a new chapter together. We both worked in the city, Annabelle in West London and me in Clapham, so commuting time was another pull factor to looking at property options in London.”
Shared Ownership offers a crucial option for many first-time buyers
James and Annabelle had friends who were Shared Ownership success stories. Initially torn between renting and buying, the couple quickly realised buying outright would not be financially possible.
"We thought, what’s the best middle ground between renting and buying, and Shared Ownership was the perfect solution."
The couple’s journey to finding Willow Walk and their dream home was a unique story, one of falling in love with a location by chance. James explains “One of our friends was going away for a while and asked us to house-sit in Wandsworth. This was the first time Annabelle and I had lived together and as well as realising we loved living together, we also realised we loved the location."
"The flat was in fact opposite the apartment we ended up purchasing! It was perfect for us; it cut my commuting time from 1 hour 30 minutes to a 20-minute bus ride; the river and all the nearby walks were another selling point for us. We discovered Willow Walk, over the road from where we were housesitting and never looked back!”
One bedroom apartment with an "impressive size of the living area"
“We looked around the show home and were shocked at the impressive size of the living area, even in a one-bedroom apartment. A key priority for us was to have room for friends to come round as we love hosting dinner parties.”
"We loved the private balcony and this was essentially why we chose the top floor; the big windows, lots of natural light and the views onto the river. Also, we wanted a home with energy efficient appliances and this also encouraged our choice. We benefit from solar panels and geothermic rods, and although we don’t have a rental to compare it to, we are confident that this was the best choice for us and keeping our bills manageable.”
James comments on the financial aspects of being first-time buyers: “After saving whilst living at our parents, we managed to put down a deposit of £14,000 and now pay £850 a month each, which includes rent, mortgage and service charges. We are so proud to have financed the deposit and monthly fees on our own and we plan to staircase in the future.”
Our first time buyers have fallen in love with Wandsworth
“We just love the area, particularly the nearby open space as we are both very active. The Thames Path is on our doorstep and we wander along the river pretty much every day. We also frequently go to Wandsworth Park and Battersea Park and have found the local community to be mainly young professionals like us, which is nice. Our favourite nearby eatery is the Kat café and we also like going to Clapham Junction for food and drink.”
As first-time buyers, the couple was grateful for Peabody New Homes’ help and support during their home-buying journey. James comments: “Peabody New Homes were great in answering all our questions, double explaining everything, and telling us the information we needed. Ilona was our key contact and she was wonderful, she gave us extra viewings and helped us on moving day.
Regarding the shared ownership scheme, I have already recommended it to my friends and helped them with the process – I would encourage all those looking to buy to consider the scheme.”
