Adam and Molly set for a bright future in New Brighton

November 12, 2019 | Dan Todd

A young Wirral couple have taken that first step on the property ladder sooner than they expected thanks to shared ownership.

First-time buyers Adam, 24, and Molly, 25, recently moved into a brand new shared ownership apartment at Potters Mews in the popular seaside town of New Brighton.

The couple had been living with Adam’s parents while they tried to save for a deposit to buy a house of their own. However, despite being able to live rent-free while they built up their savings, they still struggled to squirrel away enough money required to buy a home on the open market.

“The problem was keeping the money in our pockets,” says Adam, a panel manufacturer. “We were trying to put money away but other things would come up, like getting the car fixed, and we kept having to spend it elsewhere.”

Care assistant Molly adds: “When you buy a house [on the open market], you need a massive deposit and it’s unrealistic. It would have taken us years to save up.”

That’s when Adam and Molly discovered the shared ownership apartments at Potters Mews could be a good fit for them.

Shared Ownership allows you to buy a share in a new home, ranging from 25% to 75%, depending on what you can afford. A housing association owns the remaining share, and you pay a reduced rent on this share. This means that you need to get a smaller mortgage to buy the property, and will also need a smaller deposit.

Adam says: “With shared ownership and the deposit needed, we were like: ‘Why wait? We can do this right now’.”

After stumbling across Onward Living’s Potters Mews development online, Adam and Molly knew straight away that it was the perfect home for them.

“This was in the right place at the right time,” says Molly. “We didn’t look at anything else. We literally bought it before we’d even seen it. We went straight in, which is kind of what we do with everything.”

Once they decided that shared ownership was for them, Adam and Molly put down a £3,200 deposit for a 40% share on their two-bedroom apartment. And since they picked up the keys in October, they couldn’t be happier with their new home.

“We’re made up,” reveals Molly. “It’s really modern, clean and nice, and the area is where we wanted to move to. We’ve got everything we need round here – a bus stop, train station, a big supermarket, restaurants…”

“It’s a good size, too,” adds Adam. “It’s not like it’s a small flat. We’ve got a good amount of room so this really meets our needs.”

And Adam and Molly would definitely recommend shared ownership to other first-time buyers who are in the same boat as they were.

Molly says: “I’ve been telling people at work to do it. With renting you can’t save to buy your own home, whereas with shared ownership you still rent but you get to own part of the property as well.”

Adam adds: “I think it’s good for people our age because it’s going to take you years to save for a deposit on a house, whereas this gets you on the ladder now. Then you can put a little bit away over the year and at the end of that year you’ve got enough to buy a bigger percentage.”

If Adam and Molly’s story has inspired you to find out more about shared ownership, you can contact the Onward Living sales team on 0151 708 2421 or email sales@onward.co.uk