What I Own: We swapped a difficult landlord for our vibrant £460,000 London flat

Eleanor NoycePublished Jul 6, 2024, 8:00am

'What I Rent — This week, we’re back in the Big Smoke (Picture: David Sandison)

Welcome back to What I Own – Metro’s property series where we speak to homeowners about getting on the ladder.

Last week, we were in West Sussex having a nosey around 27-year-old Georgia Ray and 26-year-old Molly Carpenter’s new home. After living with their families for the past 10 years, they eventually saved enough to buy their own place.

This week, we’re back in the Big Smoke visiting Hazel Waite and Simon McNair, who, since moving into their one-bedroom Kidbrooke flat in 2021, have made it their own with leafy plants, colourful wall prints and eclectic trinkets.

Here’s what they had to say about their property journey…

Tell us about yourself – how old are you, what do you do for work, and where are you based?

We’re Hazel Waite, a 37-year-old sales and events manager, and Simon McNair, a 37-year-old psychologist.

Whereabouts is your property? What do you think of the area?

We live in a one-bedroom home in Loder House in Berkeley’s Kidbrooke Village in the Royal Borough of Greenwich.

We love the area! It’s in an accessible Zone 3 location that really gives the best of both worlds. When you step into Pegler Square from the train station, you immediately feel transported from the hustle and bustle, while still having all the benefits of being located in one of London’s most sought-after boroughs.

The area is also full of parklands and lovely green, open space which makes it feel like a true oasis of calm. There’s Cator Park, and Sutcliffe Park has Green Flag status. They’ve got a lovely duck pond.

We love the sense of community that Kidbrooke Village has, as well as the close access to all the things we love and need to make everyday living convenient. Having a resident’s gym on site is great t oo.

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Being so close to Blackheath is fantastic – it’s a nice local area to visit and they also have farmers markets on a Sunday which are really lovely. There are always wonderful organic food and specialist products, as well as wine bars and shops.

We quite like walking and it only takes us 45 minutes to walk into Greenwich from here, so we often go across the park, and you get a lovely view of Canary Wharf.

When did you move in?

We moved into Kidbrooke Village in 2021 and we are now celebrating three years as homeowners and members of the community.

How much was your deposit? How did you save up for it?

Our deposit was £26,000. This came mainly from our own savings and our ISA, which came to £26k. We were also fortunate to be gifted some of the deposit from family to assist us, which also helped us cover some of the legal costs.

How much does your property cost?

Our property was £460,000.

What is the monthly cost of living here now; both mortgage and bills?

Our mortgage is £800 a month with a £200 service charge. In terms of bills, our Council tax is £140, water is £40, electricity and heating are £50 each. We both then also pay around £180 each per month on travel into London.

Can you share details on your mortgage (rate/term)?

Our mortgage is 30 years fixed rate at 1.6%.

Where did you live before this – were you renting or living with family?

Before moving to Kidbrooke Village we were renting together in Clapham and dealing with an unreasonable landlord.

Like many young couples, we wanted a more secure future but were unsure whether we would be able to turn our dream of owning a home into a reality.

What made you want to buy rather than renting?

We didn’t want to carry on renting and dealing with our landlord, so we decided to apply for a mortgage. From the moment we picked up the keys and walked in we felt a sense of relief.

We’ve been living here for three years now and only just painted the walls which we’ve never been able to do before in rental properties.

It’s taken us a little while to realise that we can do what we want to the home now and really make it our own. It’s been nice and freeing.

How did you find this property? What made you choose it?

Like most people, we decided to ask Google first. Our requirement of being close and easily commutable to wider London provided a number of options, so we picked our top three and decided to visit them all in a single day.

One of the biggest factors for us was that the train station is so close by. Other properties we saw (in North London) felt like they were in the middle of nowhere.

Kidbrooke feels like a very easy commute to the centre for us and there are at least four trains an hour every morning which can get us to London Bridge in 17 minutes.

What was the process of getting a mortgage like for you? Did you find any parts challenging?

The Berkeley team was so helpful throughout the whole buying process and explained everything so clearly to us.

Buying a home can be really stressful, but the sales agent put our mind at rest and things didn’t take too long – we were in the property within a few months.

The mortgage process was easy, and we didn’t realise how quickly the mortgage would come through. Within a matter of days, we had received it and our dream of buying became a reality.

How have you made the property feel like home?

Our previous rental was partly furnished, so we really enjoyed purchasing new furniture for our home, including a bed. We took several trips to the local IKEA which is just a short bus ride away.

We planned out where to place our furniture in our open-plan living space and have recently painted our living room and bedroom.

We’ve also included personal touches by making sure to hang pictures on the walls and buy plenty of plants too!

What’s the inspiration for your interior decor style?

We like things to feel modern, but we haven’t really looked anywhere specific for inspiration. Instead, we have decorated it with colours and objects that we like so the space feels very ‘us.’

What’s your favourite room and why?

The living space is our favourite as it’s the room that we spend most time in and is the one we have completed furnishing and decorating.

We are still working on finishing the bedroom, but once that’s done, we think that will be a strong favourite.

Do you feel like you have enough space?

Yes! There is plenty of space for the two of us. The open floor plan of the apartment gives ample space and the room is generously sized.

Having plenty of green, open space on the doorstep and great amenity spaces also means it feels super spacious for us.

Do you have plans to change the property?

Not at present. The property works really well for us, and we’ve decided that we would like to remain here.

Are there any problems with the property that you have to deal with?

There have been no issues with the property itself, no.

What do you want people to know about buying a home?

Buying a home is a big decision, so don’t make it quickly and think things over once, twice, three times before you commit. Once you’ve shown interest, they’ll likely keep checking in to see where you’re at – stay calm and think things over.