Testimonials
Thursday 13 May 2021

Help to Buy brings an end to renting for Oxfordshire couple

An Oxfordshire couple are celebrating the end of eight years of renting after getting back on the property ladder with the Government-backed Help to Buy at our Bridleways development.

Kitchen and utility room at Bridleways development in Banbury

No more renting

Paul and Julie Haines, 55 and 50, had spent the best part of a decade in rented properties in Bicester, but were eager to find a home they could finally call their own. Although their budget was limited, they knew they could use the Government-based Help to Buy equity loan scheme to secure a new build home with just a 5% deposit.

Paul and Julie explored a range of sites around Oxfordshire, and with help from the Taylor Wimpey team were able to move into a three-bedroom Crofton G at the Bridleways development in Banbury before their rental contract ran out.

The couple got the keys to their new home earlier this year and are now settling into their new community.

Couple happy to move into new home at Bridleways development in Banbury

A 5% deposit

“The entire experience with Taylor Wimpey was fantastic. The sales representative remembered us from a visit to another site, and the whole team was very professional and supportive.

“We had to be out of our rented property and our build was unfortunately put on hold during lockdown, but the Bridleways sales team acted quickly to offer us a different property that was already completed, so we were able to move in with no trouble.”

Help to Buy, which reduces the deposit required for a new build home to just 5%, was vital for Paul and Julie.

Bedroom at Bridleways development in Banbury

Paul said: “We could only get back onto the property ladder using Help to Buy. The cost of rent is so high that it made it impossible for us to save for the full deposit. We are so grateful that we were able to use it.”

The couple are now settled into their new home and enjoying the many benefits that home ownership brings - including having space to work.

Paul said: “Julie has been working from home since the beginning of lockdown and has found this quite a struggle, as many people have, but it’s been much easier to accept because we live in our own home. We’ve been able to furnish one of the bedrooms into an office space. If we had still been living in the rented property we may not have been able to do this so easily.

“We both enjoy our garden space, and this is particularly important to Julie, working from home. It’s so nice to be able to make plans for our garden, knowing that it’s our garden and not someone else's. We also have a dog, so it’s been lovely to be able to discover the local area, especially along the canal.

“We love our home, and we love that it is ours. It’s been a long time coming and we’re looking forward to the surrounding building work finishing so that we can start to feel part of a community.”