Will O'Mahoney and Samantha Hester saved hard for three years and with London Help to Buy have bought their first home with Lovell.
When they visited The Electric Quarter, a new development by Lovell Homes in Ponders End, Enfield, they found that, using London Help to Buy, they could afford a brand new four-bedroom townhouse and finally stop renting.
Samantha says: “We were looking for a property in North London or a little further out. I’d signed up to receive updates on The Electric Quarter a couple of years ago but had forgotten about it until by chance I received an email and we went to have a look. We wanted a house with a garden, but never dreamed that we could afford four bedrooms, not without London Help to Buy. I can’t see us wanting to move again – this really is our forever home.”
Will and Samantha’s townhouse cost £499,995. London Help to Buy only requires a 5% deposit, but with their savings, money from teacher training grants, and a little help from their families, they could afford to pay a larger 10% deposit. The scheme also provides a government loan of up to 40% of the purchase price; Will and Samantha received a 22% loan of £109,989, which is interest free for the first five years, and took out a mortgage for the balance.
Will comments: “Our mortgage repayments are around £1,150 a month, which is less than the monthly rent on our much smaller apartment. We plan to pay off some of the mortgage as soon as we can to reduce our monthly outgoings.”
The couple moved in early in 2018 and are enjoying their new home, which has 1,420 sq ft of space over three levels. On the ground floor, the main living/kitchen space opens on to the rear garden. There is further living space on the first floor and the bedrooms are on the first and second levels, together with a bathroom and shower room.
The four bedrooms give Will and Samantha plenty of flexible space to use as they choose. Samantha says: “We’re keeping one of the bedrooms for guests, another is an office and the third is for the future!”
Homes at The Electric Quarter are designed for energy efficiency, which keeps bills down and is an important consideration for homebuyers. Will adds: “We really like the environmentally friendly elements of our house. The heating is powered by a local incineration plant, which means there are no bulky heating systems in the house, and there are also solar panels on the roof. There’s even a run at the back of the garden for hedgehogs, which shows the careful thought that’s gone into our home.”
There’s a great choice of travel connections from The Electric Quarter. Will teaches geography and Samantha is a music teacher at a school in Hackney. They both have an easy drive to work, around eight miles away and the convenience of a parking space on their driveway which was an important factor for the couple. To reach central London, it’s just 13 minutes on the Victoria Line from Seven Sisters underground station, 4.5 miles away. Or for shopping trips and meals out, they can take the bus from the nearby high street and be in Enfield in 19 minutes. Both have family living in Islington and it’s only a 20-minute journey from Ponders End overground station.
The Electric Quarter is set to become a thriving new neighbourhood in North London and, when complete in 2019, will offer new community facilities including shops, a library and nursery, set in mature landscaping with pretty tree-lined avenues.
The first phase of homes have now sold. Phase two will comprise of a collection of townhouses and apartments, launching in autumn 2018. For more information or to register your interest in these high quality, contemporary homes please call the marketing suite on 0203 811 3324 or visit www.lovellnewhomes.co.uk/developments/london/the-electric-quarter/location.
