A young Leicestershire couple have got onto the property ladder and bought their dream home at Britannia Park in Burbage, using the government-backed Help to Buy scheme.
Ricky Lee (24) and his partner Abby White (also 24) bought their three bedroom Nugent style home through local homebuilder David Wilson Homes last year, in part for its great location for commuting and because of their social links to the area, and have been settling in ever since.
Figures released from The Halifax suggest the number of first-time-buyers in the UK is at its highest in seven years, making Abby and Ricky among an estimated 325,500 people who moved into their first home in the last 12 months, a rise of 22 per cent compared to 2013.
Abby, an outreach worker from Burbage, said, “We’d been living with our parents and we both wanted to have our own place, for the freedom that it gives you and also because it was the right time to move in together and get on the property ladder.
“Britannia Park is in an ideal location for both of us to still be near our families and friends, plus it’s handy for Ricky and me to get to work from here too.”
Ricky, a project engineer from Brinklow, said, “We wanted to stay in Burbage because of our connections and because it’s a great area, but without the Help to Buy scheme we wouldn’t have been able to move into this house.
“We’d both been working for a few years, and we’d managed to save a substantial amount between us, but with property in the area being so popular and the houses at Britannia Park selling fast we had to put the deposit down quickly; Help to Buy allowed us to do this.”
Steve Smith, sales director at David Wilson Homes East Midlands, said, “It’s great to welcome Abby and Ricky to Britannia Park, and we’re glad they’re so happy here. There is already a strong sense of community developing here and we look forward to watching this flourish as more and more people move in.
“Buying a property can seem daunting for first-time-buyers, especially younger homebuyers, but Abby and Ricky have shown that it is possible for people in their 20s to save money for a deposit and find a suitable home to buy, and we were thrilled that we could give them the help and advice they needed.”
Britannia Park is a thriving development on Britannia Road on the southern edge of Burbage, and is a perfect place for growing families and busy commuters alike, with rolling countryside, a bustling town centre and quick links to the motorway all a few minutes’ away.
David Wilson Homes have also recently launched The Meadows, a new development of starter and family homes, also in Burbage.