Having returned from my travels, I was living at my parents’ house in Peacehaven. This was always a short term plan, I had two options: to rent or to buy. I have owned my own property before, so decided I needed to get back on the property ladder and find another place of my own. I faced the biggest issue any homebuyer faces which is, how to save a suitable deposit – a far more daunting prospect today than ever before with house prices being at such a premium.
I carried out research online including looking at current house prices and I found myself short on where my deposit would need to be. To combat this, after a little persuasion, my brother Michael agreed that the best approach would be to buy a house together. It made perfect sense and helped that we were both happy to buy in Peacehaven, our hometown. As we were both living at home at the time, we were in a good position to continue saving for the deposit and other associated costs with moving home.
It’s only when you start to think about it seriously that you realise how much is involved. I am self-employed which means you must have a number of years financial records before you even begin. I happened to come across a new development in Peacehaven and wanted to put a deposit down straight away but was impeded by my business financials. We were lucky, we had a friend who was a financial advisor who was able to answer all our questions and ensure we had everything in order before we (or maybe that should just be “I”!) fell in love with another house.
Now swayed by new build developments and with some knowledge in hand about the Government’s Help to Buy scheme, the search continued. We could buy a new home with just a 5% deposit and a 20% loan from the Government. This really increased the options in terms of what we could afford. I now look back and think it was fate my first choice did not proceed; just a few weeks later a friend told me about Beaumont Gardens by Thakeham. Having not heard of the development or the company, I found Thakeham online, researched the company and development from their website and picked up phone that day, making an appointment to visit the showhome.
For me it was love at first sight. One of the first new homes to be completed, the plot we chose was opposite the showhome and was the same house type – a Beachcroft 3 bedroom home with garage, with more space and a better specification than the 2 bedroom new home we looked at previously. We put a holding deposit down that day, absolutely confident in our decision. It actually took me longer to choose the sofas than it did to make a decision on the house!
The Government’s Help to Buy scheme meant we could afford to buy a 3 bedroom home and The Beachcroft ticked every box; a house on a small development, away from the main road, adjacent to parkland, backed by the South Downs National Park and a short stroll from Peacehaven water front. Having grown up in the area, we knew we had chosen the right spot.
From then on our journey to purchase was simple and stress free. The team at Thakeham helped us at every step, from answering endless questions, to assisting us with our Help to Buy forms, to managing our parents’ expectations, to putting up with us excitedly visiting regularly to see how our house was coming along. The financial advisor ensured we had everything in order, from what was required from being self-employed, to how much we could afford to borrow, to finding us the best mortgage.
Now we have moved in we know we have our 10 year NHBC guarantee, with 2 year defect cover managed directly by Thakeham’s Customer Care team – it does give us great peace of mind. We love our new home, we don’t need to do anything really – we just moved in and are enjoying living there.