Londoner through and through

Q

WHY DID YOU DECIDE SHARED OWNERSHIP IS FOR YOU?

A

“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.”

Q

DID YOU VIEW ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE SETTLING ON YOUR NEW HOME?

A

When he started to view shared ownership homes in the area he was initially put off by the thought of high-rise 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 area 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.” Alex in addition to the location and type of building, 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 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 Kings 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.

Q

HOW WAS THE EXPERIENCE PURCHASING, AND WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 5 YEARS TIME?

A

After his first viewing of the apartment he made the decision to proceed within 24 hours, and was impressed with how smooth the whole process went. “I was really keen to start moving on with it, and Charlotte at BE WEST and Jack from SRC, the mortgage advisor that they recommended, were fantastic. In fact, everyone I dealt with from BE WEST and SRC was really professional, knowledgeable, trustworthy and confidence-inspiring.” 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 step-by-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.”