First time buyer bags central London home

First time buyer Ricardo Ferreira knew exactly what he wanted in a new home - somewhere close to work but also convenient for the centre of London.

He found exactly what he needed at Barratt’s Kennington Park Square development in Kennington, SE11, which is within strolling distance of Westminster.

“My apartment is in a very convenient location – it takes me 10 minutes to drive to the office in Camberwell, but most of the time I’m visiting clients in central London which is very close” he said.

“The development is n a really peaceful place, especially in the evenings and at weekends, when it’s very quiet.”

Ricardo, 24, an area manager for a cleaning company based, had been living with an aunt in Camberwell but had been wanting to buy a home of his own for about six months.

“I used to see Barratt at work on Kennington Park Square on my way to work and was interested in it. So I went along to have a look as soon as the sales office opened,” he said. “I had already visited another Barratt development and was impressed by the size of the rooms and the high quality and standard of the finish. So I decided to buy an apartment here at Kennington."

As well as two spacious bedrooms, Ricardo’s £300,000 second-floor apartment has an en suite bathroom to the master bedroom, plus a separate family bathroom, as well as an open-plan living/dining area with fully-fitted designer kitchen. There are also balconies off both the living room and the master bedroom.

The price included an intergrated oven, hob and extractor, fridge/freezer, washer/drier, dishwasher and microwave in the kitchen, plus carpets throughout and tiling in the kitchen and bathrooms. Ricardo will also have an allocated parking space in the development’s private underground car park that is being built in the next stage of the development.

And as a first-time buyer, Barratt paid half of Ricardo’s 3% Stamp Duty.

Ricardo, who is originally from Portugal but has lived in the UK for 10 years, said: “It feels good to be living here, though I’m still getting used to having somewhere of my own! It is so convenient here for me.”

Ricardo is also full of praise for the help he got from the Barratt team at Kennington Park Square. “They are always phoning to make sure everything is OK, always around if you need anything” he said.

Kennington Park Square offers apartments at prices under £420 per square foot. Located close to the fringes of central London’s Zone 1 – where per-foot costs of £600 or more have been common in recent years – Kennington Park Square represents outstanding value for money. The £42 million project offers more than 120 one-bedroom apartments for sale at prices starting from under £245,000.

Kennington Park Square is in an outstandingly convenient location, just a few hundred yards from Kennington Underground which offers services to London Bridge in 5min, Leicester Square and Bank in 7min, and Kings Cross in 16min.

Vauxhall mainline rail station is around half a mile away, while the Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Palace, the South Bank and the Thames are all within easy walking distance. Borough Market is less than 2 miles.

Prices at Kennington Park Square start from £243,995 for one bedroom apartments. Barratt is also offering a range of assistance plans, through which qualifying buyers can get a variety of help towards buying a new apartment.

A sales office and show apartment is now open at Kennington Park Square from Thursday to Monday, 10.00am to 6.00pm – or log on to barratthomes.co.uk.