Why rent when you can buy for less

On his first visit to the showhome at Charles Church's Strata development at Century Wharf, Simon Woods was impressed by the high quality of the apartments available. In fact, he was so impressed that he abandoned his plans to live with a friend who was purchasing at the development and bought an apartment of his own!

Simon has been living in Cardiff Bay since February and although he works in North Cardiff he had decided that this was the area in which he wanted to live. He said: "I was really impressed with the finish of the showhome at Strata, and the excellent waterfront location. I was happy that my friend's apartment would have a spare room for me to live in, but once I revisited the showhome I thought I'd see if I could afford one too!"

Simon purchased a two bedroom, fifth floor apartment at Strata using Charles Church's FairShare shared equity scheme, on the recommendation of his friend. With this scheme, Simon only had to pay 75 per cent of the cost of his new apartment, with Charles Church providing the remaining 25 per cent. He now owns the entirety of his new home, with the only stipulation being that he pays back the 25 per cent he has borrowed after ten years or when he sells his home. Simon found this scheme extremely helpful, saying: "I am currently renting a home in Cardiff Bay but buying with FairShare has ensured that my mortgage repayments are less than my rent! I would not have been able to afford to buy a home without this scheme."

Strata offers a selection of studio, one and two bedroom apartments, each benefiting from underfloor electric heating, a kitchen fitted with Bosch appliances and a bathroom furnished with clean white sanitaryware from the Sottini Swirl collection. Many of the apartments have the benefit of a balcony or terrace overlooking the bay. Furthermore, residents at Century Wharf have the exclusive use of The Centurion Leisure and Function Suite, with facilities including a 15 metre swimming pool, 18 machine gymnasium, spa bath and solarium.

Prices at Strata start from £74,962 using the FairShare shared equity scheme. To find out more, visit the showhome and Marketing Suite, open daily between 10.30am and 5.30pm. Alternatively, log on to Charleschurch.com for more details.