A head start for first time buyers in Milton Keynes

Two first time buyers from Milton Keynes have taken advantage of a payment deferral scheme from housebuilder David Wilson South Midlands in order to be able to afford to buy their first home and their upcoming wedding.

29 year old Daniel Fallows and his fiancée, 26 year old Melanie Stockwell, were keen to make the move into home ownership but a lack of sizeable deposit meant they were limited with the range of mortgage products available. But thanks to the housebuilder’s Head Start scheme, the dream of home ownership has become a reality at The Sidings development in Wolverton.

Melanie, who works in marketing, comments “We were renting a two- bedroom terraced house in New Bradwell but felt the £700 we were paying each month on rent would be better off spent going towards our own mortgage so the search was on to find our first home.”

Daniel works in IT in London so location was a key factor when choosing a new place to live. The couple were keen to buy in Wolverton due to the direct train service that runs from the local station into the City and into the centre of Milton Keynes where Melanie works, and as they had previously rented a property at The Sidings, they decided to take a look around.

Melanie adds “We had previously rented a two- bedroom flat at The Sidings and liked the quality of the build so decided to see what was available. There were two three- bedroom properties on offer but the Strathmore style was just perfect for us. We really liked the feature bay window, it’s a lovely touch, plus the size of the garden appealed to us too.”

The Strathmore is a charming three- bedroom home that has been designed with first time buyers, couples and professionals in mind. The ground floor boasts a good size living room, open plan kitchen and diner plus cloakroom whilst the first floor comprises three bedrooms, the master of which benefits from a stylish en-suite, as well as the main bathroom.

The couple, who are busy planning their September wedding, were able to take advantage of the housebuilder’s Head Start scheme which allowed them to initially purchase the property for just 85 per cent of the asking price. The remaining percentage is funded by a David Wilson equity loan.

Melanie adds “Without Head Start we would not have been able to afford to buy. Money is quite tight anyway because of the wedding, but Head Start really helped alleviate our money worries and has allowed us to become home owners without overstretching our budget.”

The couple got the keys to their new home in May and are now busy settling in. But as well as unpacking, they are putting the finishing touches to their upcoming wedding which is due to take place in the Lake District on the 5th September.

Melanie concludes “The staff at David Wilson have been incredibly helpful, they’ve literally done everything for us which has really helped to take a lot of the stress off in the run up to the wedding.

“We love our new home and in particular the fact that everything is brand new and that we are the first ones to live here. We’re really excited about the wedding too, the countdown has well and truly begun and we can’t wait to get married and live here as husband and wife!”

Jackie Day, Sales Director at David Wilson comments “Many first time buyers wrongly assume that new build properties are out of their price range but thanks to shared equity deals like Head Start, buying new is becoming more affordable than ever before.

“What’s more, deals like these are simply not available on the second hand market and we are finding increasing numbers of first time buyers are taking advantage of these deals to help make the move into home ownership.”

Head Start is not a shared ownership scheme; homebuyers own 100 per cent of the property from day one. There is no rent or interest to pay on the deferred amount, the percentage borrowed is simply paid back at the property’s open market value at any time up to the point of resale or within ten years, whichever is sooner.

The Sidings in Wolverton has now all sold but David Wilson currently has two other developments on offer throughout Milton Keynes including:

Oxley Village, Milton Keynes
Boasting three, four and six bedroom homes in a newly established residential area. Prices start from £189,995.

Reflections, Milton Keynes
Offers stylish four and five bedroom homes with prices starting from £264,995.

For more information log on to dwh.co.uk.