"It's been incredible" - Amy finds her first home through Shared Ownership

Date Posted 06th July 2022

Amy had been keen to purchase her first home as a solo-buyer for a number of years and, after spending time saving, decided that it was the right time to take that step. Having been living at home with her parents in Farnborough, she was pleased to learn that there was a Shared Ownership development available close to where her family lives. She now owns a two-bedroom property at our Alexandra Place development.

She explains how her homeownership journey began: “When you’re looking to buy a house of your own, it’s so important to get every detail right. Both the size and location of the property really guided me when I was looking for my ideal home.

“Having spent my whole life living in Hampshire, I knew I wanted my first home, buying on my own, to still be in the area so I could remain close to the community I’ve always been surrounded by. I’d been fortunate enough to be living at home with my parents during the pandemic, so I was able to save up a good-sized deposit for a house. But because this was a solo-venture, and I had no extra financial help, I found there really wasn’t a lot that I could afford on the open housing market. I was able to step onto the property ladder sooner with Shared Ownership and that’s a huge plus for me.

After some searching, Amy discovered Shared Ownership: “My research into more affordable housing options brought me to the Shared Ownership information on the Abri website. I was so fortunate to see that there was a new development being built in Alton – really close to my family home. With the £32,000 deposit I’d saved, I was able to buy a 40 per cent share of my two-bedroom property in Alexandra Place."

“I was a little nervous about the idea of Shared Ownership at first. But I got in touch with Abri and they really put me at ease, answering all of my questions without delay. I realised that Shared Ownership opened my horizons in terms of the type of home I could afford. After seeing how little was available to me on the open market, I was amazed that Abri could offer me such a good-sized, modern property within my price range. They were able to make my housing dream possible."

Amy

Resident

For Amy, the move to Alton made perfect sense: “My Dad spent some time living in Alton when I was younger so I knew the area well. It’s a really close-knit community there but it’s also big enough that it has a great arts and crafts market, as well as a walking festival and the Watercress Line steam train, which I love the idea of! Alton train station is close by too, so it’s really well connected to other towns nearby.

“The development itself is in a private area right on the outskirts of the main town with a lovely wooded area nearby too that I can enjoy – yet it’s still within walking distance of everything I might need. Equally, because I work from home, I really needed a place that had two bedrooms so I could have a separate area for working. I also really wanted my home to be somewhere peaceful and quiet – which made Alton the perfect choice for me."

The process of buying a new home off-plan was smooth and hassle-free. Amy explains: “When I first visited the Alexandra Place development, the property I own now hadn’t even been built! Buying off-plan was something I was a bit nervous about, as I hadn’t done anything like it before and it’s such a big commitment to buy something you haven’t seen. But Abri’s Sales Executive for the site – Keir – was such a big help. The little things he did, like sending weekly check-in emails, put me at ease throughout the whole process.

Now settled in, Amy is looking forward to her next chapter as a homeowner: “I moved into my new home at the start of April and it’s been incredible, everything is just as I’d expected it to be. I’ve started to settle in, and I can’t wait for my friends and family to stay. I really would recommend their Shared Ownership scheme to anyone looking to buy a home. In fact, my sister is still living with our parents, and she’s now registered her interest in Abri’s next phase of development in Alton after seeing how smooth the process has been for me!”

Alexandra Place is a new collection of two, three and four bedroom homes in the market town of Alton. Home to a bustling high street of independent shops and a weekly market.

These new homes are just four minutes’ drive from the charming village of Chawton, which was once home to the famous author Jane Austen and under ten minutes’ from Alton train station – making it a connected and community-led place to live.

More homes are due for release 2025.