After years of looking the Faircloughs were finally able to buy their first home at Taylor Wimpey’s Cunningham Grange development in St Helens, thanks to the Help to Buy scheme….
Lyndsey, out-patient staff nurse and Mark, who manufactures heat resistant parts, are among the first in the country to purchase their home under the scheme following years of renting in the town. The couple both have good jobs but had been finding it hard to get onto the property ladder because of the size of the deposit required to secure a property on the open market.
Mrs Fairclough, 36, said: “We were finding it difficult to save the amount needed for a deposit when a large proportion of our income went into paying rent and bills every month. It had been a real barrier to us getting on the property ladder.”
The couple, who married last year, had been looking to buy their own property for some time when a friend pointed them in the direction of Taylor Wimpey’s Cunningham Grange development in St Helens. They went to visit the marketing suite and were delighted with how the figures stacked up.
Mr Fairclough, 50, said: “We chose a Bancroft home – a three bedroom end of terrace property which was ideal for us and our dog Molly. The home cost £149,995 and in normal circumstances we would have struggled to raise the deposit required for a house worth that amount of money. However, under the Help to Buy scheme we could pay a 5% deposit which was an amount we had saved. The scheme also means we have a 75% mortgage which makes our monthly payments less than when we rented and that means we can save for the 20% equity loan which we’ll pay off in five years’ time.”
Mr and Mrs Fairclough were able to reserve, exchange and complete in five weeks and are now settling into their new home. Mrs Fairclough said: “We’re delighted with how quickly and smoothly the whole process has gone. And it feels so homely here.
“It makes a huge difference to own your own home. It means we can make plans and put our personality into it. We’d like to spend some time making the garden nice and we’ll be putting up pictures and photos and making it ours.”
The recently launched government-backed Help to Buy scheme equity loan scheme which is available on new build properties up to the value of £600,000. There is no salary cap for purchasers, and it is available to both first time buyers and existing home owners. Eligible purchasers receive a government loan of 20%, which means that they only need to put down a 5% deposit and obtain a 75% loan-to-value mortgage.
Cunningham Grange has something for everyone. Our apartments are priced from just £89,995 and are perfect for first time buyers. For growing families we have a range of three bedroom homes priced from £165,995 and our four bedroom properties are priced from £176,995.
Cunningham Grange is close to a wide range of local amenities for day-to-day living, both in the immediate area and nearby Eccleston. There’s also an excellent range of restaurants, pubs and bars locally. In addition, there are fantastic educational facilities for all ages, including several primary and secondary schools along with sixth form colleges.
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