First time buyers – Louise Rowland and Pier Angelo Fiesco – have bought their first home in Brockworth, thanks to the Help to Buy* scheme.
However, their check list did not contain all the usual points. Their home needed to have three bedrooms, a nice garden, a good layout but most importantly, it had to be close to their new allotment!
Louise, 31, a senior administrator and Pier Angelo, 33, a heating engineer technician managed to find a home that ticked all the boxes and bought their three bedroom semi-detached Eveleigh house at Linden Homes’ Perrybrook development at the end of June.
Speaking about their move, Pier Angelo commented: “Louise and I have been together for two and a half years and had a long distance relationship while I was living in London. We soon realised that we were serious about each other and wanted our own home near the Cotswolds, where Louise was living.
“We both left our rented homes, which saved us a fortune and Louise’s mum, who lives in Churchdown, kindly let us move in with her so we could save up for our own place. She’s been great, we’ve been able to save for a deposit and we’ve helped out by doing a few jobs around her house too.
“Throughout the pandemic, we’ve been working, saving and looking for our first home, which wasn’t easy. Despite never doing any gardening before, we managed to get an allotment nearby and we’ve really taken to it! We’re growing potatoes, beetroot, runner beans, strawberries and rhubarb and we love it so much we wanted to live within walking distance.
“I moved to the UK from Colombia when I was three and I’ve been a city boy ever since so gardening isn’t something I’ve done but everyone on the allotment has been so helpful with tips and advice, like planting marigolds by the runner beans to deter insects, and we’re just loving the good life!
“We’d been looking for about a year at a range of properties and had seen a pretty two bedroom cottage that we liked in Wotton-under-Edge, but it was small and not close to the allotment! We looked at other new developments but Perrybrook seemed leafier and more characterful and that really appealed to us. It’s also equidistant between Cheltenham, Bristol and Cardiff, so it’s in a great location.
“We received an email from Linden Homes to say they’d just released the Eveleigh homes, we went to view the plans and well, here we are! Dan told us all about the Help to Buy scheme and we realised we’d be able to afford a bigger home so we went for it.”
Help to Buy* is a Government-backed loan, available on new build homes up to £349,000 in the south west. It enables homebuyers to purchase a new home with just five per cent deposit and a 20 per cent Government equity loan – a loan that is interest free for the first five years.
To be eligible for Help to Buy:
- You must be a first time buyer
- You’ll need a five per cent deposit of the purchase price
- The property must be your only home
Talking about their new home, Pier Angelo added: “We bought our home off plan which was brilliant as there was time for us to choose our own kitchen. The layout and size of the home also really appealed to us as we have plenty of room to grow and there’s a lovely private hedge nearby.
“Overall, we’ve had a great experience. Everyone has been brilliant and we’ve been really impressed with the workmanship. It was just our time to fall into a bit of luck and honestly, we couldn’t want for anything – we’re so happy!
Sales and marketing director, Sue Scholfield said: “Buying your own home is such a milestone and we’re delighted to see Louise and Pier Angelo so settled and enjoying their allotment. It’s wonderful that they’ve gained a new passion during the pandemic and the sense of achievement in growing your own fruit and veg, and buying their first home, must be incredible.
“It’s brilliant to hear that family’s helped them join the property ladder, it makes such a difference when you have support and schemes like Help to Buy can help you afford more space for your money. We’re so pleased for Louise and Pier Angelo, there are lots of other first time buyers and families at Perrybrook and it’s wonderful to see the community growing!”
Perrybrook features a beautiful collection of three and four bedroom new homes. When complete, the development will provide 225 homes, which will include 62 affordable and shared ownership properties through partnership working with Sovereign Housing Association, as well as a children’s play park and a community orchard.
-ENDS-
Contact: Emma Mackay, Linden Homes, 077383 12960; emma.mackay@lindenhomes.co.uk
