Renting vs Shared Ownership with Terrence and Tamara

#sharedownership #firstimehomebuyers #rentingvsbuying
Tamara and Terence were renting in London for several years, but were keen to own a home of their own and step onto the property ladder in the capital. The couple previously lived near Canning Town, and wanted to move back to a similar neighbourhood in East London, but thought they’d be priced out of such a desirable area of London.

Terence comments, “Renting in London is tough as the prices are really high, but we put money aside for about a year before we began looking at our options for purchasing a home. We started searching for properties available on the open market, but it was actually our friend who suggested we look at Leaside Lock, after she moved here earlier in the year.”

Tamara adds, “Our friend, Laura, bought a home here last year through Shared Ownership, so we booked a viewing to find out more about the scheme and the development. After doing some research and getting some more information from the team at Guinness, we realised it was perfect for our situation. We would never have been able to afford a home in this area without Shared Ownership, and as soon as we came to Leaside Lock we knew we wanted to live there.”

Within a week of visiting, Tamara and Terence decided they were going to purchase a 25% share of a two-bedroom apartment at Leaside Lock from Guinness Homes, located in Bromley-By-Bow, a Zone 2 borough of East London.

The pair were impressed by their initial visit, and speaking about her first impressions, Tamara says, “We immediately loved how bright and spacious the open-plan living area was, and we couldn’t believe the views from the apartment. From our balcony you can see Canary Wharf, and from the bedrooms the City of London – it’s really special!”

Tamara and Terence praised the Guinness Homes sales team who helped them throughout the buying process. “Our offer got accepted within a week, and we had a great experience with the Guinness sales team throughout the process. They were really responsive and explained everything step by step, and the team have continued to be helpful with any queries we’ve had now that we’ve moved in.”

The transport connections at Leaside Lock were one of the selling points for Tamara and Terence, as Bromley-by-Bow Underground Station is just a three-minute walk away, connecting residents to the rest of London via the District Line and Hammersmith and City Lines.

Tamara adds, “Since we have been living at Leaside Lock, our life has been so much easier. We both work at Royal Festival Hall, so our journey to work is quick as we can travel directly on the District Line from Bromley-By- Bow to Embankment. A lot of our friends also live nearby, so it’s convenient that we can hop on the tube to see them.”

Tamara and Terence are loving the new community already at Leaside Lock and are excited about everything that is still yet to come.

Terence comments, “One of our favourite parts about Leaside Lock is the community that’s growing here. While we already had our friend, Laura, in the building next door, we have met some of our other lovely neighbours, and have a group chat for the building where we are looking to organise some drinks in the summer. There is also going to be a gym and shops in the square outside, which we’re really looking forward to.”

With a baby on the way, Tamara and Terence are excited about what the future holds at Leaside Lock.

Tamara finishes, “At the beginning of February, we moved into Leaside Lock, but we also found out we were expecting our first child, so it’s a very exciting time for us! We currently use the second bedroom as a gym, but it is soon to become the nursery for our baby girl. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for our family at Leaside Lock.”

Find out more about the Shared Ownership in Tower Hamlets with the Leaside Lock development.