Mark and Micheal said "I do" to a new home at Trinity Walk in Woolwich
Thanks to London Help to Buy, Mark Nelson, 34, and Michael Wolter, 33 discovered they could start married life off in a home of their own. Raising enough for a deposit the couple bought a new two-bedroom apartment at Trinity Walk, Woolwich.
When they became engaged, Mark Nelson, 34, and Michael Wolter, 33, were desperate to start off married life in a home of their own. Although they’d saved for a long time, raising enough for a deposit on a London home was a stumbling block. This changed when they visited Trinity Walk, a new development by Lovell Homes in Woolwich, and discovered they could buy a new two-bedroom apartment with a five per cent deposit thanks to London Help to Buy.
Mark comments: “We were renting in Woolwich and wanted to stay in the area because it’s undergoing a massive regeneration and is so accessible, but with our budget we thought we could only afford a small one-bedroom apartment. The availability of London Help to Buy at Trinity Walk is ideal – it helped us buy our perfect home in the place we want to be.”
At the Trinity Walk marketing suite, Mark and Michael were impressed by the virtual reality (VR) show apartments, which helped them visualise their new home and gave them the confidence to buy their apartment off plan for £440,000. The availability of London Help to Buy meant they were able to purchase their home with a deposit of just £22,000; a 40 per cent government loan (£176,000) – interest free for the first five years – meant a mortgage of 55 per cent (£242,000) was required.
Mark says: “Our monthly outgoings are £906 for the mortgage and £178 for service charges, which is very affordable between the two of us. The government loan made a huge difference.”
Arranged in a modern open-plan layout, their new home is light and airy. It has two generously-sized bedrooms and two bathrooms, one of which is adjoined to the main bedroom. The second bedroom will double up as an office for Michael, who is a content marketing specialist and works from home. Two terraces provide additional space for relaxing outside in warmer weather and entertaining friends.
Woolwich’s great accessibility, which will be enhanced by the launch of Crossrail in 2018, was a great draw for Mark and Michael. From Woolwich Arsenal station, it’s just 18 minutes to Canary Wharf by DLR and less than half an hour to Bank. This is important to Mark who works as a fitting model and travels around London every day.
The advent of Crossrail in 2018 will also mean a swifter journey time to Heathrow in just 47 minutes, ideal as Mark and Michael enjoy travelling and often visit Michael’s family in Minnesota and friends in New York.
The ongoing regeneration of Woolwich is transforming the area with new green spaces and an influx of independent shops, bars, cafés and restaurants. Michael comments: “I used to be a singer and Mark was a dancer, and we both love the theatre, so we’re excited to hear that there are plans for new 450-seat theatre too.”
Mark concludes: “Buying a home has been a real milestone. We used to have a long-distance relationship, traveling between London and New York, and now we’re in the same city, about to get married and have a fantastic new home. We couldn’t be happier.”
Trinity Walk is part of the exciting £400 million Trinity Woolwich regeneration scheme. Development partners Lovell, PA Housing Group and The Royal Borough of Greenwich are transforming three ageing estates to create a desirable yet affordable place for city living.
One and two-bedroom apartments are currently available at Trinity Walk at prices starting from £360.000; London Help to Buy is available on all homes priced under £600,000.
To see the new showhome and experience the innovative VR show apartments, visit the sales and marketing suite off Sandy Hill Road which is open seven days a week from 10am – 5pm. To bring Trinity Walk to life on your mobile or tablet, download the Augmented Reality (AR) app by visiting www.trinitywalk-woolwich.com. For all sales enquiries, please call Lovell Homes on 0208 854 0588.
