Family escape the rental trap thanks to Help to Buy

A family who spent £37,000 in rent over six years are celebrating stepping onto the property ladder in style.

Jade Hardy and Lee Welburn have moved into a four-bedroom detached house, along with their two young children Luca and Jersey, at Chestnut Homes’ Manor Farm development in Bardney.

After six years of renting and trying to save, they moved in with their aunt in Branston 18 months ago to try to save more – but it was finding out about the Help to Buy scheme which really propelled them towards homeownership.

Jade, 28, an NHS administrator, said: “Help to Buy really sped up the process of buying a home. It would have taken a lot longer to have been able to afford our own home without the scheme. Lee is 29 and really wanted to own his own home by the time he was 30 and thanks to Help to Buy, he does!” Jade and Lee, a self-employed builder, found out about Help to Buy when they called a mortgage advisor who advised them of the new-build developments in the area where it was available. 

Help to Buy can help people move on or up the property ladder with a five per cent deposit and a 75 per cent mortgage. The remaining 20 per cent is provided in the form of a Government-backed equity loan, which is interest free for the first five years.

The couple visited a few sites in the area before falling in love with Manor Farm. Jade said: “We fell in love with the development right away. It was beautiful and ideally located. We didn’t want to move too far away from my family in Branston, and where we are now means the kids can stay in the same schools. We looked at a few different properties at the site and ended up loving The Rosedale. The downstairs is huge, perfect for entertaining and it means the children get their own room. Luca loves his bedroom. The neighbours are really nice, they offered to help us when we were moving in. They have children that are a bit older than Luca and Jersey. It’s nice to have other families nearby.” 

Jade and Lee have been in the property almost two months and have almost finished adding their own personal touches. Jade said: “There are a few things left to be done in Luca’s bedroom, but not a lot. The house was already painted my favourite shade of grey when we moved in so all I had to do was add colour through decorating.  That was one of the biggest positives about purchasing a new-build property. We weren’t buying a fixer upper that would need a ton of work done to it, we were buying a finished house that was ours to personalise and make home.  The staff at Manor Farm have been absolutely incredible. They were constantly on the phone, speeding things up and just generally looking after us and making sure it was all going okay.”

There’s a variety of three and four-bedroom homes currently available at Manor Farm, which is located off St Lawrence Drive, Bardney.