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Contact

  • Phone:
    020 8502 5758
    Opening times:
    Head Office Monday to Friday 9am - 5.30pm
    (Please note that flexible viewing times are available including weekends)

Key Documents

Terry Roberts

Terry Roberts, 28, has spent his whole life in a small patch of east London. Until recently, he had no option but to live with his mother in Plaistow, which is also where he works as a firefighter.

This year, he decided to move out and find his own place to live. “It was time to take that step and gain some independence,” he says.

Terry wanted to buy a flat, and he was well aware that his timing was possibly not great. “I was definitely a bit worried about the housing market,” he admits. “I’m constantly watching the news and keeping an eye on interest rates. But I felt that in the long run, I was still making a good decision by choosing to buy.”

Buying on the open market in London was always going to be tough on a firefighter’s salary, but Terry had read about part-buy, part-rent properties at work, and then heard about a development in E16 where properties were available through One Housing Group as part of the New Build HomeBuy scheme.

“I wanted to stay close to Plaistow, so this sounded perfect,” he says. “I went to an open day to see a show flat and I really liked what I saw. The one I chose to buy was similar to the show flat – it’s a two-bedroom flat, with a great new kitchen and bathroom and nice views. All I had to do to reserve the flat I wanted was leave a £250 cheque as a deposit.”

The flat Terry chose was in WE2, a brand new development of modern flats near Royal Victoria DLR station and London City airport. Buying through the New  Build HomeBuy scheme means that people like Terry, who find it difficult to afford property on the open market, can buy buy 25% to 75% of their chosen property, and pay rent on the remainder.

“I bought a 40% share of the flat,” says Terry. “And I pay rent on the other share. My total payment each month is around £900, which is great for this flat.”

The process of buying the property – often a stressful experience – was made painless by One Housing Group, he adds. “They were really helpful and did their best to make things easy. It wasn’t a complicated experience.”

Terry moved into the flat in September, and is thrilled to have his own space at last. He’s had to tighten his belt a bit compared to living at home with his mum, but says it’s well worth it just to have a place of his own. Meanwhile, he’s still keeping his eye on interest rates and hopes to get a good deal when he renews his mortgage.

“I do have to be a bit more careful with money now, but hopefully with interest rates falling, I’ll be able to get a cheaper deal soon,” he says. “It’s been a worrying time in the property market, but I still think it will recover and I think this is quite a sought-after area and property. The best thing is that it’s my own place, and I can buy my own things for it. It’s absolutely all been worth it.”