Hunter

The HOUSE HUNTER

This month FTB goes on the hunt with Richard and Natalie Cooke, who are after a home with two or more bedrooms, within a 60-minute drive of Manchester drive of Manchester

PROFILE

Names Richard Cooke, 38, and Natalie Cooke, 36 Occupations Graphic Designer, Royalties Manager Maximum budget £350,000 Requirements A home with two or more bedrooms within an hour’s drive of Manchester. A peaceful setting with countryside close by and good local amenities is preferred, along with space for working from home

What they wanted…

We live in a busy area of Manchester, where we’ve been for a few years. Since the rst lockdown in 2020 we’ve both been lucky enough to work from home – and we’ve had time to realise that we’d like to get away from the city and into the countryside. As things go back to normal, we’ll both be working just one or two days a week from our of ces in Manchester and the rest of the time we’ll be at home. We’ve wanted to buy a place for a while, and we now feel like this has freed us up to look further a eld. As we’ll only be travelling to work twice a week, we’re happy to move somewhere up to an hour’s drive from Manchester. We’d like to nd a new house that’s in a peaceful – possibly rural – location, with countryside easily accessible but some good amenities nice and close by. We’ll need at least two bedrooms for working space. We have savings of just over £35,000 and a budget of £350,000.”

What we found…

THE NORTHERN STAR THE SUBURBAN HOTSPOT

Hollins Green Preston, Lancashire

FROM £50,000*

Mill elds Middleton, Greater Manchester

FROM £269,995

Set in a semi-rural location on the edge of Lancashire’s Forest of Bowland, Hollins Green in Forton offers a selection of stylish two, three and four bedroom homes. This new collection has good transport links, with the M6 motorway a ve-minute drive away and nearby Lancaster station providing services to London, Liverpool and Manchester airport. The quaint village of Forton is perfect for rural relaxation and family time, while nearby Garstang has a wider choice of shops and supermarkets, along with Marketgate Shopping Centre a little further a eld. The Manchester suburb of Middleton is a popular place for homebuyers, with trains to the city centre taking under 10 minutes. The new homes at Mill elds range from three to four bedrooms and have been created in a variety of styles. The three bedroom detached properties feature a separate lounge, kitchen/diner, downstairs WC and an en suite to the master bedroom. For everyday amenities, nearby Middleton is home to shops, supermarkets and eateries, while lovely countryside and great walking routes are minutes from the door.

laurushomes.co.uk

*Based on a 25% share of the full market value of £200,000 elan-homes.co.uk

What they thought…

Forton looks like a lovely spot – with rolling hills all around and the coast nearby. The homes are a nice mix of traditional and modern, which we like. We love the kitchens – a vast improvement on our tiny at’s outdated offering. This would be an ideal place to get away from the hustle and bustle, but Lancaster and Preston are both within easy reach. Manchester would take around an hour by car, which is perfect. It is quite far north from our families, but with the extra bedrooms we could easily have people to stay.” We have friends who have moved to the outer areas of Manchester in order to buy bigger places, and they’re really happy. The commute into central Manchester is pretty easy from Middleton, around 25 minutes. Richard would probably cycle in, as it’s around six miles. We do quite like the idea of being outside of the city centre, but being able to visit really quickly. That way we get the best of both worlds. It’s also great that we’d be able to afford more bedrooms here, which is a huge plus.”

THE NEW COMMUNITY THE LANDMARK DEVELOPMENT

The Courtyard Woodford Garden Village, Cheshire

FROM £364,995

The Depot Whalley Range, Manchester

FROM £269,950

First choice!

THE COUNTRY RETREAT

Giantswood Grove Congleton, Cheshire

FROM £61,250*

This collection of two bedroom, two bathroom apartments marks the latest phase of the popular Garden Village development. When complete, this new community will be home to amenities including a primary school, shops, pub, health centre and plenty of green space. The apartments have been carefully planned with well-proportioned living spaces, private balconies and hallway storage. Manchester can be reached in under 30 minutes and Stockport and Maccles eld are under 10 miles away for large-town facilities.

redrow.co.uk Created on the site of the former Stagecoach depot, this ve-acre development will soon be home to more than 200 houses and apartments. The development has been built in keeping with the Victorian homes in the area, with sustainability in mind. The properties range from one and two bedroom apartments to three and four bedroom family homes, which come complete with openplan kitchen/dining rooms that open to a private garden. Master bedrooms in the larger properties are en suite. Manchester city centre is around a mile away.

thepropertyperspective.co.uk Located close to the banks of the River Dane, Giantswood Grove sits on the edge of Congleton, offering all of the bene ts of a thriving town, with the Cheshire countryside on its doorstep. Designed in keeping with the local surroundings, Giantswood Grove features a collection of two, three, four and ve bedroom homes. The development is situated just off the A34, providing links to Stoke-on-Trent and Manchester, while mainline train stations in Crewe and Maccles eld are just a short drive away. Properties include a fully integrated kitchen, modern bathroom and a turfed rear garden. laurushomes.co.uk

*Based on a 25% share of the full market value of £245,000

THE NEXT STEP

“We’ll certainly enjoy taking a drive down to Congleton to check out the area to make sure it is what we’re after. We’ll also register our interest and speak to a mortgage adviser so that we can get the ball rolling on our dream home!”

This new development looks amazing – it’s essentially a whole new town, with lots of modern facilities. We like the style of the apartments here and think they’re really classy. The kitchens are super-sleek and we love the idea of extra storage, as we currently have nowhere to keep things such as our camping gear and Richard’s cycle things. The area would be amazing for exploring – there’s so much nature all around, and we love that the development includes playing elds and parks.” This is an amazing location for people wanting the best out of Manchester without living in the centre. There are so many great places within walking distance. We love Alexandra Park, close by, and will always love Deansgate and the canalside, which could be reached in around 30 minutes on foot. These homes look really great, we like the style, which is a great mix of classic and contemporary. Of course, it’s also very appealing that the homes have strong eco credentials.” This really is quite a rural location, which we are certainly up for! The homes are lovely – we’d be able to afford three bedrooms here, which is exciting. We’ll have room for a home of ce and space for family to stay, too. We love that there are separate kitchen and dining rooms and that there’s a good-sized back garden. There’s still lots of thing nearby, with quite a lot in Congleton itself, as well as Maccles eld and Stoke, which are in easy reach. But we’d essentially be in the countryside, which is something we’ve wanted for so long. Manchester is under an hour by car, which is perfect if we’re only in the of ce twice a week.”

Gemma Harris is Head of Sales and Commercial Lettings for CHP, a locally managed and governed housing provider based in Chelmsford, Essex. Gemma joined CHP just over two years ago to lead on the delivery of the sales programme consisting of both new and existing homes. With more than 20 years’ experience of working in the affordable housing sector, Gemma is passionate about shared ownership and delivering an excellent customer experience

QI really want to buy my first home,

but on my income alone I just can’t afford to buy anything at the moment. I’ve saved what I feel is a reasonable level of deposit, but it’s just not enough. A number of people have suggested shared ownership to me, but I really don’t know enough about it to know whether this is the right option for me. Can you help?

AShared ownership is a fantastic option to help people get a foot on the property ladder. You can buy a share in a home from between 25% to 75% based on what you can afford and pay a subsidised monthly rent on the unowned share to the provider selling the home. This means that you only need a deposit for the value of the share you are buying, not the full market value of the home, making buying a home far more achievable and affordable for those on lower incomes with smaller deposits! Once you’ve bought your home, you have the ability to increase your ownership through buying further shares in your home, usually up to 100%. This process is called staircasing. Just like buying a home on the open market, shared ownership is available on both brand new homes in newly built developments, as well as on secondhand homes available for resale. There are different property types to suit your individual needs, so it’s definitely worth investigating further.

To find out what is available in your preferred location, the best place to start would be through web portals such as helptobuy.gov.uk or keaze.com. There you will find details of all of the homes available for shared ownership and who to contact for more information. At CHP we have a fantastic range of one, two and three bedroom apartments and houses for sale across Essex, in great locations to suit everyone, so you can always visit chp.org.uk to take a look there too! If there are homes that catch your interest I would recommend that you contact the provider for more information. It may be that you have your own mortgage lender or independent mortgage adviser in mind, alternatively you can ask the provider to give you the details of its panel of independent mortgage advisers who specialise in shared ownership. Either way they will be able to confirm your affordability and advise you of the mortgage products available to you with the level of deposit you have, to help you determine whether buying a shared ownership home is a possibility for you.

Arla, Chelmsford Gemma Harris, Head of Sales and Commercial Lettings, CHP

These six two bedroom apartments available with apartments available with shared ownership are shared ownership are set alongside open countryside in the delightful village of Hat eld Peverel, just minutes from Chelmsford. minutes from Chelmsford. The apartments at Arla The apartments at Arla offer the perfect blend of offer the perfect blend of country living and city convenience. With a supermarket, post of ce and farm shop along with a GP surgery, pharmacy and dental practice, Hat eld Peverel country living and city convenience. With a supermarket, post of ce and farm shop along with a GP surgery, pharmacy and dental practice, Hat eld Peverel FROM £92,750* has everything you’ll need on a daily basis. You’ll has everything you’ll need on a daily basis. You’ll also nd cafes, traditional pubs and the popular Blue Strawberry Bistro. The village has a wonderful sense of community. The village hall hosts a wide range of clubs and societies and the community club organises events and activities, so there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in local life.

Whether you’re commuting for work, planning a shopping expedition, taking a trip to the coast or holidaying abroad, Arla is ideally located, with excellent transport links.

Available now, each apartment offers contemporary xtures and ttings, a fully integrated kitchen and dedicated parking, with prices starting from £92,750 (*for a 35% share with a full kitchen and dedicated parking, with prices starting from £92,750 (*for a 35% share with a full market value of £265,000).

For further information contact the sales team at CHP: email sales@chp.org.uk, call For further information contact the sales team at CHP: email sales@chp.org.uk, call 0300 555 0500 or visit our website chp.org.uk

The details and CGI in this feature are for illustrative purposes only and may be subject to change without notice