Everything a home owner could wish for, and more

Homes big enough to share? Tick. Two bedrooms and two bathrooms? Tick. Convenient for commuting to London and Milton Keynes? Tick. Close to all local amenities? Tick.

And so the list goes on. In fact, Redrow @ The Wharf in Leighton Buzzard ticked so many boxes for Laura Pellington and Kerri Woodrow that they couldn’t fail to snap up one of the smart and spacious two-bedroom apartments.

But not just any apartment; they chose the former show apartment that came complete with flooring and light fittings plus a few optional extras thrown in, such as the wardrobes, fridge freezer and rugs.

The two 27-year-olds have previously rented flats together in London and Leighton Buzzard but this is the first time they’ve pooled their resources and committed to buying a place of their own.

Laura, who works for central government in Whitehall, said: “We’ve known each other since we met at University in 2000 and have lived in a few different places. We originally rented a property in Leighton Buzzard as it was convenient for me working in London and Kerri’s job as a solicitor in Milton Keynes.

“I can do the journey to work in Whitehall door to door in 52 minutes exactly, not including a ‘Starbucks’ stop, and even during the rush hour Kerri can drive to Milton Keynes in only 20 minutes.

“Once we knew we liked living in Leighton Buzzard we decided it was time to buy. I’d hate to work out how much money we’ve thrown away in rent over the last five years, but at least now we’re building up some equity in a property of our own.”

The pair were originally looking at a much older terraced property in the town but after realising how much work and expense it would entail they changed tack completely and opted for a brand new Redrow apartment instead.

Laura adds: “The apartment we’ve bought has 840 square feet of space, which is actually larger than the terraced house we were looking at; it has two bedrooms and two bathrooms, which is ideal; the lounge is 25’ by 11’6” – larger than my mum and dad’s at home; and it comes with a 10 year Buildmark warranty so we’ve no major repairs to worry about.

“The location is great; it’s really quiet and we can watch the barges go by on the canal, yet it’s only 10 minutes’ walk from the town centre, six minutes from the station and there’s a shop and a pub at the top of the road. What more could you want?

“Well, add to that the fact that Redrow paid our deposit, helped out with moving costs and the sales people at the development couldn’t have been more helpful throughout the process, and we reckon we’ve done extremely well for ourselves.”

Redrow has just launched the second phase of development at The Wharf and currently has a selection of spacious two-bedroom apartments available from £173,995 to £210,500. Selected plots are available with £700 per calendar month towards the mortgage for the first year – a great ‘safety net’ for those anxious about managing the monthly finances.

The development is situated alongside the Grand Union Canal in the Linslade area of the town and the train journey from Leighton Buzzard to London Euston takes just 35 minutes.

To find out more, log on to Redrow.co.uk.