Bounds Green is just the ticket for transport worker
Moussa Debbah is a London bus driver. At 39, he found himself living in a shared rented flat in Seven Sisters, and becoming disillusioned with the idea of ever owning his own home in the capital.
“I’d been looking for four years,” he says. “I didn’t like where I was living, and I wanted to be investing in my own home, instead of my landlord’s. Buying on the open market was too expensive, especially with having to get a deposit together. Every time I saved some money, prices would have gone up another 5 per cent. I couldn’t catch up.”
Moussa still kept his eye on the property pages though, and stayed abreast of any initiatives that might help him.
“I was always looking at websites about housing,” he says. “And that’s how I found out about shared ownership and Homebuy. I saw a link to the Metropolitan Home Ownership site and realised I might be able to buy a place after all.”
Moussa then went to a Housing Options Affordable Home Show where London housing associations present their new developments. He got
more details about MHO, emailed the housing association afterwards and was sent a list of properties available for resale. Moussa says he found that resale properties offered very good value for money. “I spoke to many housing associations about New Build properties but they were more expensive as you pay more for a brand new home and they weren’t available straight away. Resale was cheaper and more convenient for me. ”One MHO resale property was a flat in a development in Bounds Green, which instantly appealed to Moussa.
“It’s a one-bedroom flat, and it’s in a nice, quiet block, which is important to me as I didn’t want to live in a high rise building,” he says. “It’s a good area, near the tube, and with good transport links in general. The flat is great and has modern fixtures and fittings. And my bus depot is at King’s Cross, which is only a 15 minute journey away.”
The asking price for the flat was £160,000 and Moussa bought a 50% share, which means he pays rent on the other half. The whole process of buying his home was easy, he says.
“MHO were very helpful,” he says. “Especially the person I dealt with in resales. He kept in touch with me all the time, so I always knew what stage we were at. They also arranged a meeting initially with a financial advisor to get the paper-work sorted out.”
After about three months, Moussa was handed the keys to his flat. He is still enjoying the thrill of having his own place at last, and being able to plan a bit better for his future.
“I would never have been able to buy anything on my own on the open market,” he says. “This is the only way for many people. It’s had a great effect on me psychologically, because now I have my own place to go home to and I don’t have a landlord. I can buy things for it. Before this, I lived like a traveller, always moving around. Now I can settle down and I think this flat will be a great investment too.”