A new home for Becky
Moving from Somerset to London came as a bit of a shock to Becky Dungworth, a 24-year-old primary school teacher. The cost of renting a home was massive compared to what she’d been used to.
“I didn’t like throwing money away in rent,” she says. “I was paying £700 a month just for a room in a shared place in Camden. But I soon realised that with my income, I couldn’t get a mortgage for a property anywhere near where I wanted to be. I work in Islington, so I didn’t want to be too far away.”
A colleague at Becky’s school had told her about shared ownership, so she simply did a search on the internet and Metropolitan Home Ownership’s web site came up.
“I had a look through it, and saw there were quite a few properties available,” says Becky. “I was interested in a development called Eclipse in Wood Green, because it’s fairly close to work.”
Eclipse is a new development of 62 apartments available on a shared ownership basis. The apartments are all a bit different, with many including en-suite bathrooms and balconies or terraces. They all have fully fitted kitchens with stainless steel features, and the bedrooms come with fitted wardrobes.
“I made an appointment to have a look, and reserved an apartment I liked,” says Becky. “Then I just had to go to MHO with my bank statements and wage slips, and a copy of the mortgage offer I already had. I was buying 25% of the flat, and paying rent on the rest.”
She’d chosen a flat on the top floor - the penthouse, she likes to call it - which has two big bedrooms, a kitchen/diner, and a large terrace with views of Alexandra Palace.
The transaction went through at lightning speed - a mere six weeks from start to finish. “I did push it along a bit,” she laughs. “But there wasn’t really that much paperwork or chasing to be done. My tenancy ran out at the end of March, and I completed on March 31, so that worked out well.”
Becky’s now paying more each month than she did before, but says having her own place makes it all worthwhile. “Before, I just had a room in a flat,” she says. “Having my own place has meant I find my job easier, because I’ve got somewhere I can go home to and chill out in. It’s important to have somewhere you feel comfortable in. It’s made me more relaxed and that feeling has spilled over into other parts of my life.”