With over 90 years’ experience in creating highly sought
after homes across London and Hertfordshire, affordable housing experts Origin
Housing have launched their latest development, Lavender Place. The high quality new development offers a
collection of 10 one and two bedroom
shared ownership apartments, along with 15 three bedroom private sale homes,
set in the historic town of Hitchin.
The brand new shared ownership apartments are built to an
extremely high and stylish specification. All homes have an open plan
kitchen/living dining area with ‘Amtico’ wood effect flooring. The apartments have fully fitted kitchens, with sleek ivory
gloss wall units and walnut finish base units, fridge/freezer, dishwasher and
washer/dryer. Bedrooms are carpeted ,whilst the bathrooms have chic slate black
flooring and smart white sanitary ware with chrome fixtures and fittings. The walls are decorated in white emulsion.
Located on Fishponds Road, close to the popular commuter
town of Hitchin’s town centre, Lavender Place is close to an abundance of
popular shops, pubs, clubs and restaurants.
A short walk away is Hitchin railway station, which has regular rail
services direct into London Kings Cross, taking approximately32 minutes. Exercise fiends will enjoy the health,
fitness and swimming centre nearby. For
relaxing in the open air, Hitchin has a number of green spaces, notably Butts
Close, a wide open area close to Lavender Place, and nearby Bancroft Gardens,
as well as the rolling countryside of North Hertfordshire.
Shared ownership schemes can be a great way to help first
time buyers to get onto the housing ladder, and priority is given to those
working in the armed forces.
Simon Scott, Head of Sales and Marketing for Origin
Housing,describes the scheme:“The average income of shared ownership purchasers is
still under £30,000, so it really is a scheme that could be open to almost
anyone. Shared ownership allows buyers
to purchase a percentage share in the property (you can buy as little as 50
percent), and rent the un-owned share at a subsidised rent level. The buyer is given the opportunity to
‘staircase up’ as their circumstances change.
This means that the buyer can buy additional shares in the property, and
can ultimately own their home outright.
Remember, just because you are buying an affordable home, doesn’t mean
you have to compromise on quality or location!
This scheme is a great example of this- Lavender Place offers high spec
homes set in a highly sought after area!”
With shared ownership,
buyers require a far smaller deposit than those buying on the open market. Buyers need a minimal, 5 percent deposit of
the share they buy, and some mortgage lenders are still offering 100 percent
mortgages for shared ownership properties.
What’s more, in many cases, average monthly costs could be lower than
the cost of renting privately.
The scheme has already helped thousands of people get on
the housing ladder, Gisele Fabris, a physiotherapist, who, with her partner,
purchased a 25 percent share in a 2 bedroom apartment by Origin Housing earlier
this year.
Gisele comments: “My partner and I couldn’t have possibly
bought our own place without the shared ownership scheme. Within 3 months of moving into the property,
my partner and I are already looking to staircase up, we hope this will be
possible in the next couple of months.
Ultimately we hope to own the property outright. Throughout the process, Origin were very
helpful. The financial advisor and the
sales team were outstanding.”
Another shared ownership buyer, Dessy Hristova, a midwife
working for the NHS, bought a share in a 2 bedroom apartment by Origin. She comments:
“I am originally from Bulgaria, but I have been living in
the UK for 14 years, and I have a British passport. I never knew I could qualify for an
affordable apartment!
It was one of my colleagues who first mentioned shared
ownership to me, and it sounded like a great scheme! The process, from first registering my
interest to actually moving in to my new apartment, took less than 6 months.“
Prices for the shared ownership properties start from
£160,000 , applicants can register their interest now by calling 0800 068 8990
or visiting www.originsales.co.uk. Eligibility criteria applies, including
minimum and maximum income levels, and priority will be given to armed forces
personnel.
Origin Housing also have a growing portfolio of high
specification homes throughout Hertfordshire, North and Central London.
Armed forces personnel again have eligibility criteria
priority. To view our other schemes please visit www.originsales.co.uk