Charles Williams could only dream of buying a home in London before he found out about shared ownership with Moat. He had been renting with friends in Islington and was ready to get his foot on the property ladder.
“As much as I loved living with my friends, I really wanted to have a space to call my own. I’d been speaking to a mortgage advisor about buying a property outright in London, but it just seemed impossible with my salary and the deposit I had saved.”
Charles heard about shared ownership through his sister who had recently bought an apartment at Moat at Marine Wharf in Lewisham. More apartments had become available to reserve on the same development, so he went along to an open day to see them for himself.
“When I first saw the apartment, I thought it was too good to be true. It was so spacious and it had been completed to such a high standard. I knew it was the apartment for me as soon as I walked in.
“I reserved it on the spot, which is something I never thought I’d do. Then I moved in 10 weeks later. Moat made the buying process really easy and I was over the moon to be able to move in so quickly.
Charles’ new home was ideally located so he could get into central London every day for work and escape the hubbub of town in the evening.
“I’m a teacher for a school in Barbican and my work commute takes me about 40 minutes, which is better than I ever expected. I love coming home to the peace and quiet of an evening. I can hop on a bus and get to Greenwich in 10 minutes or get onto the underground at Surrey Quays. I have everything I could need close by, including a Tesco just around the corner from me, as well as a gym, quiet garden area and a café.”
To anyone thinking about shared ownership, Charles’ advice would be, “A lot of people in London feel like they have no choice but to rent. To those people I’d say that you do have a choice. Buying a home through shared ownership is an investment and a great way to get that first step onto the property ladder.”
For more information about shared ownership in London visit www.moathomes.co.uk/county/South-East-London-Shared-Ownership.