Zoe’s Story

Local chef Zoe Partridge-Bates works at a popular car-themed American diner in Boston. She needed to find a new home after a relationship breakdown. Having purchased a home before she felt confident about the process but was unsure if she’d be able to afford a home on her own. She commented ‘It wasn’t really a situation in which I was able to decide. However, I have always known that if it’s at all possible, I would want to own my own home”.

Zoe saw a development in Pinchbeck, Spalding on Rightmove. I enquired straight away and because I was local, I also drove past the development a few times too.  The development offered a Shared Ownership option. Zoe added ‘I had a vague idea about Shared Ownership, I understood that it was part mortgage/part rent, and the deposit only had to be 5% of the mortgage cost, not the whole home.’

Shared Ownership is a government scheme and offers another way to buy your home. You buy a percentage and pay rent on the rest. You own part of it – but you are living there, you decorate it as you wish and decide when to sell. Buying a percentage means a smaller deposit and a smaller mortgage. It is a sooner first step on the ladder for lots of people. Usually, you can carry on buying further shares to own it 100%.

Zoe felt the Pinchbeck Place development ticked all the right boxes.  It offered an easy commute to Boston; she was able to afford a two-bedroom semi-detached house with a contemporary kitchen and fitted integrated appliances. Outside the private garden will offer her somewhere to relax when not cooking up delicious food.

Zoe commented ‘The home itself is perfect for just me and the 2 kittens, the layout is great, and the rooms are all amazing sizes. I still can’t get over how big the bedrooms are, as my last new build, you could fit a bed and bedside tables and that was it. I’ve got a king-size bed, bed side tables, wardrobe, drawers and a full-size vanity desk and chair.  I also love the little “extras”, like lights and shelves already in the built-in cupboards.’

Asked if she would recommend Shared Ownership to others Zoe says, ‘Buying a home is scary, but the moment you get given those keys, and every single moment you add a finishing touch to something, you get the biggest sense of pride and “I’ve done this, this is all me.” It is 110% worth it. Do your research, ask lots of questions, and don’t be scared because you’ve never heard or don’t understand what Shared Ownership is. It’s given me the best little home I could have ever asked for.’