If renting in London is hard, actually buying a property is even harder.
It’s no wonder that so many people end up moving outside the city to have a chance of getting on the property ladder.
That was the case for Rebecca, 26, and James, 29, who bought a home in London Colney, Hertfordshire, after being priced out of Barnet. Soon after they moved in they welcomed their first baby, Jackson, and had to move quickly to get their home baby-ready.
Since then they’ve bought a new home and plan to move in and renovate soon – but have shared the redecoration process of their first flat on Instagram in the meantime.
As part of our weekly series, What I Own, we caught up with the couple about their experience buying their first home.
Hi, Rebecca! How much was the deposit for this place?
We needed to save 10% of the property so £23,500 for the deposit – and of course the solicitor fees – so in total we saved about £25,000 between us.
We didn’t have any help with buying our property but we really wanted to buy our first home ourselves.
Our goal was to save about £10,000 each so it kind of turned in to a challenge to see who could save the quickest, it definitely kept us motivated. It took us about a year and a half to save.
We cut down on things like shopping and going out to eat and just focused on saving as much as we could. I set up a direct debit so as soon as I got paid it went straight in to my savings. It was tough but it was worth it.
James was renting on his own at the time so he moved into my family home, we still paid rent to my parents but way less than what James was paying before, so we were lucky we were in a position to do that.
Our home cost £235,000 for a two-bedroom flat.
How much do you now need to pay per month?
Our mortgage is about £700 a month.
We had an amazing mortgage advisor called Emma Hayes from Premier Property Solutions who helped us throughout the whole buying process and secured us with a great mortgage deal, she is also helping us with our new home as she really made the whole process a lot less stressful. Our bills come to about £400 a month.
When did you move in?
We moved in August 2018 so we have been at the property for about a year and a half but we are actually moving soon and have purchased a three-bedroom house just around the corner -this will be long term.
How did you find this flat? What made it the one you chose?
I contacted a few estate agents in the local area and also looked on RightMove and Zoopla. We viewed about 10 properties until we found the right one.
We had friends who brought a property around the corner and all flats around here are really similar with the exact same layout so it didn’t take us long to find one we loved.
We wanted a top floor flat with a loft and the condition didn’t matter as we were planning on renovating it anyway.
We particularly liked this block as the rooms are a lot more spacious with bay windows and the service charge is only £66 a month so that was a bonus!
Why did you choose this area?
We are both from Barnet originally but the house prices there are crazy! London Colney is still pricey but a lot more affordable.
We visited our friends who used to live here quite a bit and just grew to love it. There are some really lovely pubs and nice places to walk and it’s really quiet. There are great schools and we have St Albans on our doorstep.
It’s also really easy to get to London and takes me only 10 minutes (on a good day) to visit my family. We probably wouldn’t leave the area now even if we could afford to.
Did you do much in the way of renovation?
We had the advantage of James being in the building trade so he pretty much renovated the flat himself with the help of his business partner and friends. So we were able to save a lot of money with that.
After spending all our savings on the deposit and fees we didn’t have much money to renovate so we would buy the materials and furniture as and when we got paid.
The flat was very dated before so we had to completely renovate every room, including the electrics and plumbing. James had to fit this around work so he was at the flat most evenings for about four to five months. Meanwhile we were still at my parents so we were paying for a mortgage and rent at the same time.
Looking back I would probably have just moved in and completed each room while we were there but I guess we were just excited to get it done!
Did you have to make many adjustments for the baby?
We were definitely not planning on having a baby for a few years so probably wouldn’t have gone for a top floor flat without a lift!
We found it put a bit of pressure on getting everything done as we wanted to make sure everything was safe and his room was complete before he was born.
How have you made the flat feel like home?
I have really enjoyed decorating the flat and I am constantly changing things around. I have tried to make it cosy with rugs, cushions and of course lots of candles!
I also have put up some lovely prints around the flat. I am a big fan of the grey but I think my next home I will try to add some more colour to it if I can.
Do you feel like you have enough space?
We definitely do not have enough space, especially after Christmas!
We have decided to move as we would love a garden for Jackson in the summer and just would love more room for him to play, especially as now he is on the move so it will give him a bit more freedom.
You shared a lot of your homeownership journey online – why was that important for you?
I created an Instagram last year called Rebeccashome and I’ve really enjoyed sharing the progress of our flat. I love looking back and seeing how far the flat has come.
I also love getting ideas and inspiration from other people especially as I will have to do it all over again pretty soon.
As I am on maternity leave I have more time to interact and post about our home and everyday life, it’s a lovely community so it’s become a sort of hobby for me.
What are your housing plans for the future?
We put our flat up for sale but we were not expecting much interest as the markets very slow at the moment but surprisingly it sold within a week!
Luckily the estate agents we were selling with had a property that was just about to come on the market that was just around the corner.
There is a lot of work that will need doing but we could see a lot of potential in the house and we love a project so I’m really excited to share the progress of our new home on my Instagram.
How to get involved in What I Own
What I Own is a Metro.co.uk series that takes you inside people’s properties, to take an honest look at what it’s like to buy a home in the UK.
If you own your home and would be up for sharing your story, please email whatirent@metro.co.uk.
You’ll need to have pictures taken of your kitchen, living room, bathroom, and bedroom, plus a few photos of you in your room. Make sure you get permission for your housemates! You’ll also need to be okay with sharing how much you’ve paid to live there and how you afforded the deposit, as that’s pretty important.
If you’re renting, you can take part too! What I Own runs alongside What I Rent, which is the same series but all about renting. Again, if you’d like to get involved just email whatirent@metro.co.uk.
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