A young couple celebrated after moving into their first home, just in time for Christmas. Sarah Bartlett, 32, and Ashley Fraser, 31, from Newquay, were struggling to find a home to share after meeting and deciding to move in together. Sarah, an administrator for a brewery, had been renting for several years while Ashley, a valet, lived at home. After finding it expensive to rent and thinking buying was unachievable, they moved into Ashley’s parents’ home while trying to save.
It could only be a temporary measure because Ashley’s parents were also looking to move so they had to move out of their home. The couple applied for a shared ownership property in Nansledan on the outskirts of Newquay, after a friend of theirs had purchased a terraced two-bedroom home with LiveWest six months ago.
She advised them they would likely be able to get a shared ownership home as she had done it on her own and recommended looking at the housing association.
Sarah said: “I loved the look of Nansledan, so we applied not thinking we would get it, but we did, and it’s changed our lives. After my friend recommended looking, I looked at the website and spotted these. We are so happy to be in for Christmas and LiveWest pushed to make sure we were too.
“We were blown away with the house. I didn’t think we would be able to afford a house over renting, but I love it and it’s better than we imagined with more space too.”
After applying only in August of this year, Sarah and Ashley, along with their Shih tzu dog Zelda, moved into the two-bedroom home after a very quick process in November in time to celebrate Christmas.
Sarah added: “I moved to Newquay from Bude three years ago to rent but struggled to find a long-term home. I then met my partner Ashley, and we eventually moved in with his parents.
“I think this is less than what me and my housemate were paying when we were renting. With rent prices going up, me and Ashley both would have struggled with it.”
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As the couple are local to the area with Ashley living in Newquay for 20 years, they were able to apply for these homes which have a local connection criteria and get themselves on the property ladder with shared ownership. Sarah doesn’t think they would have a place of their own now if it hadn’t been for this purchase method.
She said, ” For first-time buyers, I think shared ownership is a good way to get your foot in the door. We love the estate, and we’ve barely left it since moving in, as there are lots of cafes, bars, and shops here. We have a dog-friendly garden, but there is also a walk suitable for our dog just over the road. Although we haven’t met many people yet, there is a Facebook group, and we are hoping to become more sociable.
“We are fairly close to the beach, about a 20 minutes’ walk, which is great. I think we will stay in this home for a long time, we are starting to get everything together and have a new sofa coming.”
Ashley added: “We applied for a shared ownership home not knowing much about the process, and three months later we are in. It was the easiest of processes and each step was explained clearly, and no questions were left unanswered.
“Buying a new home always sounded so stressful, but Poppy ensured that we knew exactly what was going on and supported us the whole way through. We can’t thank you enough for helping us secure our dream home.”
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