Case studies
As a single mum-of-two in rented accommodation, Tracy looked forward to the stability a home of her own would bring. When the hospital she worked in announced a shared ownership scheme solely for key workers, she jumped at the chance to buy shares in a property nearby. After fifteen years living in her house in Gillingham, she recently took the steps to staircase to 100% ownership of her house, giving her the security she’s always wanted for her family.
Tracy was working as a secretary in A&E when she found out about the Starter Homes Initiative, a scheme helping key workers purchase affordable first homes. With a little help from her close colleague, Tracy managed to put a payment down to secure a nearby house through shared ownership with Moat. Although the main attraction was the proximity to work, it was an added bonus that Tracy liked the area and felt like the home could be made into her own.
Since she bought her first share in 2006, Tracy has married and has gone on to purchase the remaining shares in her home - a process known as ‘staircasing’: “There has been such comfort in having a shared ownership home – Moat has always supported me when I’ve needed it. Now my children have grown up and we are in a better position financially, we thought it was the right time to staircase to own 100% of our house. This has made a complete difference to our lives - having full ownership of our own home has given us complete security.”
Tracy was pleasantly surprised at how straightforward the staircasing process was for her. After filling in an online form and supporting documents, the rest of the work was taken care of by Moat and her solicitors. She said: “I’m so glad I’ve been able to do this now. I’m really thankful for Moat, we’d have never been able to do this without the shared ownership programme.”
After living with her parents, Jaye decided that it was the right time to buy a two-bedroom property of her own. She was initially attracted to Russet Grove, Marden, due to the lovely surrounding area and its proximity to a train station with links into London.
Russet Grove is in the heart of the Kent countryside, offering peaceful village living near the bustling towns of Maidstone and Royal Tunbridge Wells. After realising the development ticked all of her boxes, Jaye reserved an apartment off-plan in October 2020. This means she bought it before it was built, which allowed her to secure a highly sought-after home before the properties sold out. She decided to purchase a 30% share of the property, an affordable option for her to begin with.
She said: “As I’d be living by myself, the Shared Ownership scheme made it possible for me to own something. I really don’t know what other options I’d have had if I hadn’t gone down this route. The fact it’s a lovely new-build property is such a bonus.”
Fortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic didn’t affect Jaye’s purchase much: “Things were a little bit slower and mortgage lenders were more cautious but overall, all went really well. Moat was great – the clear communication and constant contact was really good for my first-time buyer experience.”
After a year of lockdowns living with her parents, Jaye says the independence of living alone and having her own space has been much appreciated and will have an incredibly positive impact on her life.
For more information about new shared ownership homes at Russet Grove, please contact Joshua Whyatt on 07711 438500 or email him at joshua.whyatt@moat.co.uk. We also have homes for shared ownership in Maidstone and Ashford.
While living with parents and their young daughter, Mena and David Ocansey decided it was time to get a home of their own for a fresh new start for their family.
Whilst living with their parents in East London, the young couple began their search for a place they could finally call their own. Since the birth of their daughter two years prior, Mena had been on the hunt for somewhere that would be ideally located for David’s work whilst giving them the wow-factor.
However, after initially seeing somewhere they liked the look of in Sydenham last Spring, the pair pulled back because it wasn’t quite right. The search wasn’t simple sailing, until they discovered Culverley Gardens in Catford, which ticked all the boxes for them both. They instantly liked the area and the feeling of spaciousness so close to London and having two bedrooms was a game changer. It was also relatively close to their parents’ home and would cut down commuting time, meaning more time to spend together as a family.
Mena said “After a terrible year for everyone, this just feels like it’s come at the right time. It’s a new year with a fresh start and we feel optimistic about our new home. It will make such a difference – our daughter will have her own room, we can decorate our own space how we like and I can make a mess baking in the beautiful kitchen!”
Shared Ownership seemed like the most appropriate route to take for the Ocanseys to get onto the property ladder. After considering Help to Buy, they had worries about paying back costs at the end of the initial five-year loan period, whereas they felt a certain comfort of being with a well-established housing association like Moat.
“The whole team at Moat have been so helpful. Communication has been fantastic. I’ve had a million questions and the New Homes Officer who helped us, Ben, has always broken them down simply for us to understand which has been so appreciated! Simone was also fantastic in keeping on top of everything and chasing things up.”
The couple have already looked into staircasing in the future, which would mean buying more shares in their home. “This is something we would like to do in time once we’ve settled. It seems like an uncomplicated process that would benefit us when the time comes.”
For more information about new shared ownership homes in London, get in touch with Ben Davis on 07850 917 673 or email him at ben.davis@moat.co.uk. You can check out MoatHomes.co.uk for any upcoming schemes.
First-time buyers Sophie Spencer and Daniel Dickinson made the leap from renters to buyers after purchasing a brand new shared ownership three bedroom apartment at Kidbrooke Village Meridian Gate. Sophie and Daniel moved into their new apartment at Noble House in March 2018.
It was whilst the couple were renting at Kidbrooke Village that they made the decision to buy a home of their own together. They had grown to love the area because of its open space and quick connections to central London. Daniel grew up close by so was familiar with the area: “When I saw it was being developed, I drove through and thought it was incredible how much it had changed. The parks and peacefulness still draws me to this area; it just doesn’t feel like you’re in London.”
“Whenever you think of new builds in London you think of the concrete jungle, but it’s just not like that here. It is so quiet and beautiful, yet so easy to get into central London. Daniel works in London Bridge and he can wake up at 7am and be at work for 8am.”
Keen to get onto the property ladder, the couple started looking for properties and came across Moat’s shared ownership apartments at Meridian Gate in Kidbrooke Village.They booked onto the next open day and met the Moat sales team.
“The financial advisor made us realise that buying was an option for us, so we chose the percentage share that we felt was right for us and then came to see the apartment.”
“The quality of the apartments that we were looking at before Kidbrooke Village was completely different. We loved the apartment as soon as we saw it and knew we didn’t have to do much to it to make it feel homely. We’ve been invited round by a few neighbours and it really feels like a community”
The apartments at Meridian Gate are conveniently located next to the village centre; home to a range of amenities, including a Sainsbury’s Local supermarket, convenience store, pharmacy, doctor’s surgery, dentist and café and delicatessen. They are also situated between the new Cator Park and established Sutcliffe Park that help to make up the 136 acres of parkland in Kidbrooke Village.
“We’re so glad we took the step and bought our own home. Something is now going towards our mortgage and we’ve bought a three bedroom apartment that is far bigger than the two bedroom apartment we were renting. When we’re ready, we’ll buy a bigger share.”
Available properties start at £108,750 for a 25% share of a spacious two bedroom apartment (full market value £435,000).*
For more information about shared ownership at Kidbrooke Village, call Louise Gramston at Moat on 0845 359 6380.
While shared ownership is often thought of as a first step onto the property ladder, for Tina and Lewis, it provided the perfect middle ground after traditional home ownership became too costly.
Tina and Lewis have recently moved into a three-bedroom house in Woodlands Green, Staplehurst. They were previously paying off a mortgage on a home for outright ownership but were finding that the payments and cost of maintaining their home were quickly stacking up.
“We had to sell our previous home, as we could not afford the mortgage - in the past we both got made redundant and had to go onto an interest-only mortgage. This meant we were not able to ever buy our old home outright, and we couldn’t afford to make any repairs to our old home.”
After researching their options online, they came across Moat’s shared ownership programme. Paying off a smaller mortgage in a newly built house provided the ideal solution, and they were attracted to countryside living in charming Staplehurst.
“The house [in Woodlands Green] is new, and we do not have to replace anything; it’s great that all appliances are in the property. This has saved us money, so that we have been able to buy all new furniture.
“We only had to get a small mortgage which will be paid off when I retire.”
The couple moved into their new home in July 2020 and all that’s left for them to do now is “just to relax and enjoy our new home”.
Don't miss out on our other beautiful properties for shared ownership in Maidstone - including Russet Grove in Marden.
