Shared ownership: Crewe, Cheshire

Rhianne, 28, was faced with the all too familiar hurdle of rising house prices and an inaccessible market when it came to taking the first step on the property ladder. A home in the South East was out of reach, but new flexible working arrangements gave Rhianne and her partner Sam, 29, an opportunity to look further afield

After purchasing a three bedroom semi-detached house through the shared ownership scheme at Weston Woods by Latimer in Crewe, Cheshire, the couple have space to grow and are now enjoying their new lives in the countryside.

Rhianne and Sam were previously living in a rented one bedroom flat in Hampshire, but quickly realised that staying in the local area was unaffordable for them. Rhianne comments, “House prices in Hampshire and the South East had rocketed and showed no sign of coming back down, so we explored alternative avenues. With contemporary hybrid working, I realised we were no longer geographically constricted by work commitments. With my role as Global Visual Communication Manager at Reiss, I have the flexibility to live outside of the heavily priced areas surrounding London and Sam did too.”

After discovering the Weston Woods development, Rhianne and Sam had a swift journey from viewing to completion which took just six months. Rhianne added, “Luckily we were able to view our actual home, meaning we could visualise the size, layout and could even customise the flooring. We looked at another new build site but nothing compared to the space at Weston Woods. After the viewing, we knew this was the home for us. I am the sole mortgage holder and bought a 45% share of the property which has a full market value of £205,000 and required just a 5% deposit.

“Our monthly outgoing is about £100 less than on our one bedroom rental in Hampshire, which my friends and family can hardly believe. For a lower monthly cost, we now have three bedrooms, a lovely garden and so much more storage space than our rental offered. I plan to staircase in the future and hope to eventually own 100% of my home, something which wouldn’t have been possible had we stayed near London.”

Rhianne loves her home and the local area, which caters to every aspect of her lifestyle. She explains, “The home itself is absolutely beautiful. It’s fresh, spacious and is in a wonderful location. We have converted one of the rooms into a home office and the other is used for guests. Our garden looks on to an area of green space which is blossoming at the moment, so looks incredible. We have made our home warm, cosy and full of colour and indoor plants. I have started to document our new build journey on my home Instagram account @village_newbuild.”

The couple are making the most of the

Fact File

Property: Three bedroom house

Full market value: £205,000

Share value: £92,250 for a 45% share

Deposit: £10,250 location and rural life of South Crewe. “We really feel part of this village community where everyone says hello to one another and helps each other out. We love walking and going on bike rides so the countryside around Crewe is perfect for us. Also, we’re so well placed for day trips.

“Old Trafford Shopping Centre is a 45-minute drive away and the beautiful Peak District is close by too. In terms of work, I’m well positioned to reach all the big cities like Birmingham and Manchester and a ticket to London is £40, nearly the same as when I was in Hampshire.”

As a first time buyer and solo mortgage holder, Rhianne was grateful for Latimer’s sales team’s support and professionalism. “My experience was brilliant, it showed that buying a home is possible and can be a seamless process if you have a helpful sales team and make use of the shared ownership scheme.”

All homes at Weston Woods have now been reserved. For information on Latimer’s other sites, please visit latimerhomes.com