Help onto the property ladder for young families in Ipswich

An Ipswich family has escaped the rental trap to a brand new home of their own with the help of a Government-backed scheme.

Thanks to HomeBuy Direct, Rebecca and Richard Culley and their young daughter are now firmly on the property ladder at Redrow’s Bramford Gardens.

Rebecca explained: “Richard and I were renting in Ipswich and wanted somewhere bigger to raise our daughter Matilda. When I first visited Bramford Gardens it was to see if they had any properties available to rent as I didn’t think we would be able to buy without saving a large deposit.

“The sales consultant explained that with HomeBuy Direct we would be able to take out an equity loan for up to 30% of the price of a new home, making homeownership much more affordable. It was a nice surprise to discover we could get onto the property ladder and buy a brand new Redrow home.”

Available on a selection of Redrow’s properties at Bramford Gardens, Ipswich, HomeBuy Direct is open to purchasers who have an annual household income less than £60,000, including first time buyers, those re-entering the property market following a change in circumstances such as divorce or the breakdown of a relationship and potentially families needing room to grow.

Customers own 100% of their home from day one – but only have to pay between 70 and 85% of the purchase price. They can start purchasing the remaining share in instalments after just 12 months.

“Our mortgage repayments are only £5 a month more than we were paying in rent and we’ve got a bigger property as well as something to show for our money,” Rebecca commented.

“In fact we’re actually saving money now because our new home is more energy efficient. Having a young baby, it was lovely not to have to worry about how much we were paying to heat the house during the winter.”

Rebecca and Richard, both civil servants, bought their three-bedroom ‘Dunmore’ style home off- plan while it was still being built.

“We had looked at the show home so knew what the finishes would be like but were pleasantly surprised when our house was ready because it was bigger than we had anticipated,” added Rebecca.

“We were more nervous about buying the house than we were about having a baby, but it’s absolutely fine. We feel like proper grown-ups now!”

A selection of two and three-bedroom homes are currently available at Bramford Gardens with prices from just £110,950. A three-bedroom ‘Dunmore’ with en-suite to master bedroom, similar to Rebecca and Richard’s, is currently priced from £159,950 – or an initial outlay of just £111,965 with a 30% equity loan through HomeBuy Direct.

Bramford Gardens is well placed, close to the town centre, country and coast with a wealth of entertainment facilities and opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors. It also boasts good transport links and is just a mile from rail links to London and other major cities.

For more information about the homes available at Bramford Gardens, visit the sales office and show home, open daily from 10am to 5.30pm.