First buyers grasp Government’s shared equity lifeline
Charles Church, part of the Group which has the largest FirstBuy allocation of any UK housebuilder, has taken its first reservation.
The Charles Church buyers have been thrown a lifeline by the new Government-backed FirstBuy shared equity scheme are now looking forward to moving into their new home.
The young couple from Salisbury are celebrating after purchasing their first home together at Charles Church’s Royal Gardens development in Salisbury, Wiltshire through the FirstBuy scheme. And for them, the scheme has meant they can purchase their first property where they’ve both lived all their lives.
Part of the UK’s leading housebuilder is championing the FirstBuy scheme, having been granted a £35m allocation from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). This means that 2,100 of its new homes across England will be available to buy with the support of FirstBuy.
Engineer Matthew Ball and pensions team manager Louise Higgs were living in rented accommodation but were keen to buy in Salisbury, Wiltshire, where they were both brought up.
They found their ideal home at Royal Gardens in Old Sarum, Salisbury but without the FirstBuy scheme, it would have remained purely a dream.
Matthew, aged 31, says: “We both like living in Salisbury and wanted to buy a home here. It was the quality of Charles Church properties which was important to us and we liked the location of the development.
“It’s not far from Salisbury city centre, yet near the countryside too. It’s almost on Salisbury Plain so it’s a lovely place to live.
“We definitely couldn’t have bought there without the help of the FirstBuy shared equity scheme. It opens up new hope for people who are struggling to get a deposit together. We only had to pay a fraction of what a normal deposit would have been.
FirstBuy is the brand new Government-funded shared equity scheme which helps first time buyers onto the property ladder. The scheme is aimed at households with an income of less than £60,000 a year and eligible applicants are offered an equity loan of up to 20 per cent of the purchase price and gain a mortgage for the remaining amount.
Matthew and Louise chose a three bedroom three storey property with a master suite complete with dressing room and en-suite on the top floor. Matthew says: “That was the selling point for Louise!
“We’re now looking forward to moving in around late October and planning our first Christmas there.”
Pauline Fletcher, sales director for Charles Church Wessex, adds: “We are really pleased to have secured our very first FirstBuy reservation. This scheme is great news for first time buyers and, as Louise and Matthew can prove, it can mean the difference between being able to make the move, or not.”
Royal Gardens enjoys the best of both worlds. It is in a semi-rural location with arable land all around and lovely views across countryside, yet it is just two and a half miles from the centre of the historic city of Salisbury with a host of pubs, restaurants and shops, all with plenty of character.
To find out more about the properties available, please visit the Royal Gardens Marketing Suite at Sarum Meadows, Sherbourne Drive, Old Sarum, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP4 6FS, or visit charleschurch.com.
