EXPERTS
Agony agent Readers put their property questions to our guest panel of experts: solicitors, mortgage advisers, property gurus and Help to Buy providers
THIS MONTH’S PA N E L O F E X P E R T S James MacPhail, Head of Sales and Marketing, settle
Asha Agarwal, Interim Head of Sales, Be West
Simon Scott, Assistant Director of Commercial & Property Marketing, Origin Housing
T E S T T H E PA N E L
We need your questions... If you have any queries, or difficulties in understanding the property buying process, our panel of experts is waiting to help. Send our team your questions on buying property, Help to Buy, legal issues, or your financial problems and we’ll find the best person from the panel to give the advice you need. Email your questions to: lynda@firsttimebuyermag.co.uk
Can we buy a home with space?
Q
My partner and I have been trying to save up for a deposit on our first home while we’ve been living in a house share in London. Like most of our friends, we no longer need to be in the office every day and during the lockdowns we really enjoyed growing our own vegetables in our garden. So, our first home together needs to have space for a home office and we’d both really like it to have its own garden. We’ve heard about the shared ownership scheme but all we seem to be able to afford are one and two bedroom apartments with little or no outside space. Will we ever be able to own our dream house or should we give up and accept that renting is our only option? Laura Knight, Acton
A
The last couple of years have made everyone reconsider what’s important to them, and nothing is more important than where we call home. While in the past, the travel time to the office was a key consideration for many when choosing where to live, the move to hybrid working has meant that we’re no longer tied to our daily commute. If you’re only going into the office a couple of times a week then consider expanding your property search area to include areas where your commute
back to the office is a little longer than you would have previously considered. Look at towns on good train lines back into London. You’ll be surprised, when you’re used to the London property market, the size of properties you’ll find that are within your budget once you consider areas surrounding the capital. And once you find that you can afford that house with the home office, the garden and with countryside on your doorstep, you’ll realise that moving out of London offers you the lifestyle you’re after. At settle, we specialise in shared ownership homes throughout Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. For example, at our recent development at Collins Close in Shepreth, South Cambridgeshire, just 54 minutes from London King’s Cross, we had two bedroom houses starting from £133,000 for a 40% share and a monthly cost of around £1,177. Over the next 12 months we have two, three and four bedroom houses available at several different developments across our region which will be perfect for buyers like yourself, who are looking for that extra space yet still have easy access back into London. For more information about buying shared ownership with settle visit settlesales.co.uk James MacPhail
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