We are in Milton Keynes this week – speaking to Sarah, who lives with her husband and two children.
The family moved into the property back in November 2020 and put down a 10% deposit on the £270,000 home.
Sarah explains how they had to move in with her parents to save up for the deposit. She shares what it was like getting on the property ladder below…
Tell us about yourself.
My name is Sarah, I’m 28 years old and I’m married to my husband, Farouk, who is 31. I’m a mum of two: Selah aged four and Ezra, seven months old.
I’m a senior business analyst and I work from home full-time.
Where is your property? What do you think of the area?
We live in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. We absolutely love the area, it’s quiet, family friendly, has great restaurants/shopping and is green and clean. There are so many activities for kids and families.
When did you move in?
We moved November 2020.
How much does your property cost?
£270,000.
How much was your deposit?
We put down a 10% deposit.
What is the monthly cost of living here now; both mortgage and bills?
Our monthly cost of living is £2,500 in total.
How did you save up for your deposit?
After our wedding in 2018, we moved into my parents’ house and saved hard for two years. No holidays, no expensive restaurants, just working and saving. My husband even got a second job, which made us more comfortable.
What was the process of getting a mortgage like for you? Did you find any parts challenging?
Our mortgage process was really quick and easy for us despite buying just after lockdown. The whole process took two months.
Where did you live before this – were you renting or living with family?
We lived with my parents for two years before buying our home. Thank you mum and dad. We owe you the world.
What made you want to buy rather than renting?
We both believe in building generation wealth. One way for us to achieve this is through property so buying is the route we took and it’s what’s best for us.
How did you find this property? What made you choose it?
In 2019, during my daily commute, I would pass our area and just fell in love. One day while browsing on Rightmove I saw a home for sale in the same area – however, there were no pictures of the interior of the home. But something inside of me just got excited. I booked a viewing for the coming weekend and me, my husband and my mum went to view it.
It was our first day viewing properties and our home was the third house we viewed that day. I fell in love instantly but my husband wasn’t convinced, I was so gutted he didn’t like it and was forced to forget about it.
We went on to view about 10 more houses but every house we saw I always compared it too the one I loved. The bedrooms were big double rooms – most the homes we viewed in Milton Keynes had tiny bedrooms. And what sold me was the three bathrooms and huge closet that would be mine.
How have you made the property feel like home?
I believe home is where the heart is. We have made the property home by trying to create a loving, happy environment for our family. Yes, I do love interior design and, two years in, I’m nowhere near finished decorating my home. But it’s home because I share it with the people I love.
What’s the inspiration for your interior decor style?
My inspiration comes a lot from beautiful homes I follow on Instagram. But what I envision for my home is a classy, neutral theme with touches of gold accents.
What’s your favourite room and why?
We renovated the whole house and designed everything from scratch, but my favourite room is my en-suite, because it’s huge and just stunning to me.
Do you feel like you have enough space?
We are a family of four, so having large bedrooms was important to me. Space isn’t a problem thankfully.
Do you have plans to change the property?
Our home is recently-renovated, the only plan now is to maybe renovate our garage in the future into an office or workspace etc.
Are there any problems with the property that you have to deal with?
No problems currently detected, thank god.
What do you want people to know about buying a home?
I want people to know buying a home can be a really positive experience. Before we bought our home we only heard negative stories. So it’s nice to know it can be a happy experience. For us, renovating was more stressful due to our builders – but that’s a story for another day.
What are your plans for the future, in terms of housing? Do you plan to stay here long term?
Our plan is to stay here until we outgrow it. However, we do want to invest in a few rental properties to grow our portfolio.
Do you want to feature in What I Own?
What I Own is a Metro.co.uk series that takes you inside people’s properties, to take an honest look at what it’s like to buy a home in the UK. If you own your home and would be up for sharing your story, please email [email protected].
You’ll also need to be okay with sharing how much you’ve paid to live there and how you afforded the deposit, as that’s pretty important.
If you’re renting, you can take part too! What I Own runs alongside What I Rent, which is the same series but all about renting. Again, if you’d like to get involved just email [email protected].
Shall we take a look around?
Do you have a story to share?
Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
MORE : What I Own: Marcela and Altin, who pay £3,500 a month towards the mortgage and bills on their Ealing home
MORE : What I Own: Kristina, who bought a £400,000 Blackpool house as an investment property
MORE : What I Own: Adi and Oli, who bought their three-bed Haywards Heath home with Help to Buy
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