Happy ever after

Buying your first home is a dream come true. Here we highlight three first time buyers who have taken that first step on the property ladder using shared ownership through Be West – their stories are inspirational!

ALEX WILLIAMS

Nearly 40% of London-based first time buyers were forced to leave the capital last year to find a home they could afford¹ – and with first home prices rising by £24 a day², many more find themselves stuck in a cycle of being unable to make progress saving for a deposit while paying high rents.

But not everyone wants to flee to the suburbs or beyond in order to buy a home – some are Londoners through and through, like 30-year-old Alex Williams. He had no intention of giving up the dream of a place of his own in his home town, and is delighted to have just moved into a two bedroom apartment at Aw4ken, a shared ownership development in Chiswick from Be West.

“I grew up in the Richmond area and had rented four or five properties after leaving home, the latest in Wimbledon, so not too far away from my family. I work in Fulham, and I’m not at the point in my career where I want to work remotely full-time, so I needed to be within easy reach of the office. I certainly never wanted to consider moving out of London.”

Alex, who is a PR Account Director, had been saving hard towards a first home, and carefully considered all his options before opting for shared ownership. “The prices on the open market were a bit too high for my liking,” he said. “I looked at Help to Buy, but because the Government contribution is quite limited and prices are rising, I couldn’t buy the kind of home I really wanted.”

When he started to view shared ownership homes in the area he was initially put off by the thought of highrise living – but then he visited Aw4ken, a development of just 12 one and two bedroom apartments over three storeys, in a quiet residential area.

“It’s a safe, leafy neighbourhood, surrounded by nice houses, and I was really taken by one of the properties on the second floor,” he said. “I visited some 12-floor tower blocks in Acton and Kew and wasn’t sure about them. Here I don’t feel like I’m towering over people – the development fits in rather than sticking out.”

In addition to the location and type of building, Alex was also instantly impressed with the internal layout of his new home, which was quite different from others he’d seen. “So many places I looked at elsewhere

“MY DAY-TODAY COSTS ARE SIMILAR, AS THE MORTGAGE PLUS RENT WORKS OUT MUCH THE SAME AS WHAT I WAS PAYING BEFORE JUST TO RENT”

had completely open-plan living rooms, with the kitchen in one corner so you can see the sink from the sofa – I really didn’t like that.

“Here, the kitchen and living room are separated by a half-wall so you don’t have to see any of your cooking mess! I also love the super-large open balcony, which has already been put to good use. Everyone who visits comments on how light it is inside; I have huge windows letting in the sun so that it’s bright inside from dawn to dusk.”

Aw4ken, in W4, is a short walk from three Zone 3 London Underground stations. Chiswick Park is the nearest, with District Line services to King’s Cross taking 48 minutes, while Gunnersbury, around a 20-minute walk, has Overground services to Stratford in less than an hour. Alex’s trip to work is 45 minutes door-to-door, a far cry from the commute endured by those moving to the suburbs.

Alex was able to buy a 40% share in the home, which had a full market value of £740,000, putting down a good-sized deposit and borrowing the rest with a five-year fixed rate mortgage from Santander. He also plans to staircase in the future.

“My day-to-day costs are similar, as the mortgage plus rent works out much the same as what I was paying before just to rent. I would absolutely recommend shared ownership; the scheme is designed specifically to help people on to the housing ladder and in my opinion it’s a sensible approach to acquiring a home on a stepby-step basis – having an asset is really important. Rather than waiting another five years to try to afford a two bedroom home on the open market in the area, I have got myself on to the property ladder now, and I have a genuine asset in the share I own.”

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There are no homes available at Aw4ken but for other developments visit bewest.co.uk

1 hamptons.co.uk/research/articles/londoners-spend-arecord-on-property-outside-the-capital# 2 cityam.com/london-average-hits-440k-first-time-buyers-infor-a-shock-as-house-prices-for-newcomers-rise-24-per-day

COSMIN SABAU

House shares can be fun when you’re young, but the novelty can soon wear off, especially if you work anti-social hours and have to try to sleep when your flatmates are awake. That’s exactly the scenario that 32-year-old Cosmin Sabau found himself in before he was finally able to move into a home of his own at The Apex in Fulham.

“I was living in a shared house in West Acton, it was in a lovely area, very clean and green. But when you are in a shared house you do end up living with a real mix of people. I was working long hours and needed my privacy, plus I really like things to be clean and tidy. It was becoming difficult and stressful, especially as I was working shifts and other people were making a noise and enjoying a drink when I was trying to sleep. All of that was driving me to really want my own property.”

Cosmin works in property management for luxury developments in central London, after moving to the UK from a Romanian seaside town six years ago. The luxury homes he looks after mainly belong to foreign investors and even royalty – but it made him despair of ever managing to buy a place of his own.

“Prices in London are crazy and simply not affordable for ordinary people,” he says. “A lot of investors are coming from overseas and purchasing properties as an investment and pushing prices up unrealistically high. Fortunately, shared ownership provides an affordable way to buy a property.”

Cosmin had been saving hard for several years, and when he joined forces with his brother Flavius they were able to purchase a 25% share of a two bedroom apartment at The Apex with a full market value of £612,500. “It wasn’t a sudden decision, I had been putting my money away for six years, working like crazy, with no days off, to save up a large deposit. I knew what I wanted and that kept me going and I never gave up,” he says.

The first thing on Cosmin’s wish list for his new home was to be a little nearer to his job. “All my work was in central London and I cycle everywhere as I don’t have a car. I was feeling exhausted cycling from West Acton over to Green Park or Kensington every evening, so I wanted something closer to my work. When this development came up I was really excited by the location, and when I visited it seemed ideal for me.”

There are no homes currently available at The Apex, but resale shared ownership homes are available in nearby Shepherds Bush with prices starting from £95,000 for a 25% share. A SESTUDY C

For more information visit bewest.co.uk

SARA PONNE

When Sara Ponne phoned her mother to say she was about to buy a home in London, she was met with astonishment that it was even possible. Yet thanks to looking a little further afield and using the Government-backed shared ownership scheme, the 38-year-old analyst for a drinks company is now settling down in a home of her own at Be West’s Waterside Heights development in West Drayton.

Sara, who is originally from Brazil, had been living in Hammersmith in a shared flat with two others. “London is so expensive; I used to live by myself in Brazil but couldn’t afford to do that here, so I’ve been sharing for three years. Even though it’s nice to have flatmates it’s not common in Brazil so I was not used to it. I liked it in Hammersmith, but I didn’t earn enough to afford to buy around here, so I started looking at ways it might be possible for me to buy – including shared ownership. I started to look at different areas of London and I was looking further and further afield until I suddenly found West Drayton. I really liked the look of the homes at Waterside Heights as they are right next to the station as well as being close by the Grand Union Canal and its lovely bridge.”

Sara does hybrid working, with two or three days in the office at Chiswick Park and the rest at home, so having good public transport was important to her. When she first went to view Waterside Heights she had intended to only look at the cheapest property, but in the end she viewed several different possibilities and particularly liked a one bedroom apartment on the second floor – with the stylish decor really convincing Sara, who has a background in design, that it was the place for her. “It was north facing but it didn’t bother me that I didn’t get the direct sun because it’s super light inside – but what I really liked was that the kitchen units and the flooring were a lovely cream colour. The problem was it was advertised as a 35% minimum share which I couldn’t afford, but Charlotte the sales adviser made some calls and managed to get it changed to 25% just for me.”

Despite loving the apartment, Sara still had some questions. “After I left I realised I still didn’t know how much the deposit would be, and I was terrified it was going to be £20,000 or £30,000 and I would never be able to afford it. I sent an email to Charlotte and when she replied that it was only around £4,000, which was something that I could afford, I was so excited and started the process straight away.” Sara was able to buy a 25% share, worth £74,000. “I had been saving up for six months and I didn’t spend hardly any money during that time, so I was able to find the deposit and the legal fees. “My advice to anyone stuck in shared accommodation is to take a good look at shared ownership and just do it – if I can, anyone can! Do a spreadsheet, work out how much you can save and then go for it. If I were spending the same amount of money a month renting a whole place for myself in Zone 2 I would only be able to afford one of those awful old studios where the shower and cooker are next to the bed! Instead, I have a lovely spacious open-plan living area, with a great balcony, and it’s perfect for me. I’m so glad I have taken this first step. I want to staircase next year, as soon as I can.”

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There are no homes available at Waterside Heights but for more information on other homes around the capital visit bewest.co.uk