A successful investment with Weston Homes
Making your first investment in the property market is a big step, but Karla Headland and Tom Ward were clearly happy with their purchase at Morello Quarter in Basildon, having since reserved to invest in a second property at Housebuilder of the Year Weston Homes’ development.
The couple, who live in Ingatestone in Essex, bought a two bedroom apartment at the beginning of July, but after experiencing quick success in finding a tenant within only two weeks, they decided to invest in a second property and reserved a one bedroom apartment. They now plan to further invest in the future at Morello Quarter and the many Weston Homes developments across the Home Counties.
Morello Quarter has become a prime development amongst investors as a commuter town with excellent links into London and becoming an integral part of the transformation and regeneration of Basildon into one of the UK’s most modern towns as part of the local government’s £2 billion “More Basildon” vision. Basildon has also been firmly put on the map ahead of the London 2012 Olympics, with new Sporting Village in Basildon earmarked as a training camp for the Games and will give local residents access to an Olympic size swimming pool, gymnastics centre, fitness suites and an athletics track with grandstand.
Karla, a 23-year-old working in IT, comments: “We’ve been looking for properties to invest in for over a year and had the chance to go and view the apartments at Morello Quarter. We also went to some other nearby developments, but the difference in the service and what you got for your money meant that Morello Quarter really stood out for us. Everything that you see in the apartment is what you are being sold, so you are getting everything for the money you are paying.
“This was our first investment and we are really happy. In fact, we have gone on to buy another property at Morello Quarter. We’ve already managed to rent out the two bedroom apartment in just two weeks for a very good rental yield and hopefully, we can do the same with the one bedroom apartment.
“Because we lived in Essex, it was easier for us to make this decision knowing the rental market here and being able to get value for money, as well as knowing the train services and local amenities. At Morello Quarter the specification was fantastic and both bedrooms very spacious; everything was also close by, with the town centre and shops and the local train station going into London only walking distance away.”
Often referred to as ‘the Docklands in Essex,’ the 425 one and two-bedroom apartments at Morello Quarter, Basildon’s leading residential development, provide the highest interior specifications in the area, winning a Bronze award in the ‘Best Starter Home’ category in the 2010 What House? Awards.
Karla added: “Investing in our first property was a very big decision and this made us decide to invest in an area we knew rather than buying a property in a different part of the country where our knowledge of the area might not have been as good. Because everything went so well, we would like to invest in other properties now and have been looking at other Weston Homes developments.
“We were very pleased with the service we got at Morello Quarter, it was a very straightforward process without any hold-ups, which was very important considering this was our first investment.”
Bob Weston, Chief Executive and Chairman of Weston Homes, comments: “Morello Quarter’s high specification, spacious apartments have been extremely popular. There has been a surge of investors buying at the development, who are seeing the benefits of buying in Basildon. We can’t build the apartments fast enough.”
Prices at Morello Quarter start from only £125,000 for a one-bedroom apartment and £143,000 for a two-bedroom apartment. For more information, visit weston-homes.co.uk/morelloquarter.
