Buying a new home is easier than you think

It’s a fact that a deposit of just £5,000 can secure a brand new home for first-time buyers in Basingstoke, under an innovative scheme to make it easier to step onto the property ladder.

Leading housebuilder Taylor Wimpey is urging would-be homeowners to get The Facts and find out how a 5% deposit can secure their new home – without the prospect of a massive mortgage to repay.

Just one of the initiatives for first-time buyers is called Easy Start, and it’s available for a limited time only at the Marnel Park development in Popley, Basingstoke.

Under Easy Start, qualifying first-time buyers with a 5% deposit can purchase a stylish studio apartment priced from only £97,995 with an 80% mortgage of only £78,400, or a one-bedroom apartment priced from £113,995 with a mortgage of just £91,200.

With the first 5% put down by the customer, Marnel Park developer George Wimpey – part of the Taylor Wimpey company – provides an interest-free loan for the remaining 15%, which can be repaid by the homeowner in up to three instalments over the 10-year loan period.

Easy Start loans are also available at Taylor Wimpey’s Everest Park development in Popley, where two-bedroom apartments can be purchased with 80% mortgages starting at £112,000.

As an alternative to Easy Start, first-time buyers with a household income of less than £60,000 and a 5% deposit could qualify for the government-backed HomeBuy Direct initiative. Available at Taylor Wimpey’s Limes Park development at Park Village, Basingstoke, HomeBuy Direct enables two-bedroom apartments to be purchased with a 70% mortgage – as little as £111,997.

Taylor Wimpey and the Homes and Community Agency jointly funds the remaining amount through a great-value loan, which is interest-free for the first five years and low-interest for up to 20 years thereafter.

Tim Betts, Sales and Marketing Director for Taylor Wimpey West London, says: “Easy Start and HomeBuy Direct are bringing an end to first-time buyer misery in Basingstoke.

“With a deposit of as little as £5,000, customers can purchase a brand new home of their own and stop spending money on rent.

“Armed with The Facts, we helped hundreds of first-time buyers find a home in 2009 – and this new year we hope to help many more!”

The ‘Jade’ range of studio and one-bedroom apartments at Marnel Park offer purchasers a choice of well-proportioned homes, which include a light and airy open-plan kitchen/living/dining room plus a Juliet balcony to selected plots, a separate bathroom, and allocated parking.

Like all new homes at Marnel Park, Everest Park and Limes Park, the range of apartments available using the Easy Start and HomeBuy Direct schemes are finished to a high standard specification and include central heating, double glazing and a sophisticated fitted kitchen complete with integrated oven, hob and hood.

Marnel Park, Everest Park and Limes occupy beautiful, semi-rural locations to the north of Basingstoke town centre, yet with excellent road links to anywhere in town and just a 10-minute walk from North Hampshire Hospital and a good number of other local employers.

Basingstoke is home to bustling modern shops, good schools and exciting leisure activities, plus music venues, a choice of multi-screen cinemas, tennis courts, a leisure park, sports clubs, an ice rink, a swimming pool and bowling alleys. Festival Place shopping centre is ranked in the UK's top 10 biggest and best, with more than 150 stores, plus restaurants, bars and cafes.

For commuters, Basingstoke station provides services to London Waterloo in just 45 minutes, and the M3 is just a short drive away.

First-time buyers keen to find out more can log on to taylorwimpey.co.uk or visit any of the following new homes developments in Basingstoke, open seven days a week:

Limes Park, 1 Peggs Way, Park Village – 0845 026 5113 (open 10am to 5.30pm)
Marnel Park, off Carpenters Down, Popley – 0845 026 5016 (open 10.30am to 5.30pm)
Everest Park off Popley Way – 0845 672 8447 (open 10.30am to 5.30pm)