New house, new baby, new life at Barratt's Lakeside

One couple had an extremely busy month recently after moving into Barratt’s Lakeside development in Eastleigh and taking advantage of the popular HomeBuy Direct scheme.

Amy Colarelli, 25, and Mike Clark, 28, welcomed their first baby, Charlie, into the world just a week after moving into their new three bedroom Maidstone house type for just 70 per cent of the asking price.

Amy, a theatre nurse at Southampton’s Princess Anne hospital said without the HomeBuy Direct scheme they could still be renting an apartment with a new baby.

“The HomeBuy Direct scheme has been fantastic, there’s no way we would have been able to buy a new home with room for Charlie without the help of the scheme,” said Amy.

“ We were also due to move in the same day Charlie was due but Barratt managed to finish the house a week early so thankfully the stress was minimised!”

Amy and Mike’s three bedroom Maidstone had an asking price of £205,000 but with HomeBuy Direct, they only needed to pay for £143,500, saving them thirty per cent.

Barratt still has a number of homes available through the HomeBuy Direct Kickstart scheme, so urges interested buyers to get in touch soon as Lakeside is the only development where Kickstart is available.

Barratt sales director Mark Docherty said: “The initiative is open to first-time buyers, key workers and others who are currently renting. People who have previously owned a home but are now unable to do so – perhaps where relationships have broken down – can also apply.”

“Eligible households will have an income of up to £60,000 and would not normally be able to afford to buy a suitable property on the open market,” he added.

Buyers can redeem the loan in instalments, purchasing up to 100 per cent of the equity after their initial purchase by buying additional equity at the market rate. Alternatively, if they sell their home, the equity loan is repaid by way of a proportionate share of the sale proceeds. Buyers must have at least five per cent of the 70 per cent to use as a deposit.

Lakeside is a stunning development of apartments, coach houses and houses nestling close to the River Itchen and Lakeside Country Park.

The development is located midway between the maritime city of Southampton and the cathedral city of Winchester. There are excellent transport links, including regular bus services, and Southampton International Airport is only a 15-minute drive away.

For more information, log on to: barratthomes.co.uk