How 'Help to Buy' helped Northamptonshire family land dream home

A Northamptonshire family who has moved out of rented accommodation to a new home has praised the Government’s Help to Buy scheme.

Jade and Ravaun Jones, both 28, bought their dream home on the Bellway 'The Beeches' estate at Stanton Cross, on the outskirts of Wellingborough, moving in with their two boys – 10-year-old Taylan and three-year-old J’Karne – in December 2020, just a few weeks before their third son Zyan was born.

The Help to Buy scheme meant that Jade, a health care assistant, and Ravaun, a construction logistics manager, were able to buy a four-bedroom house with a five per cent deposit and a 75 per cent mortgage, with the remaining 20 per cent provided in the form of an equity loan, interest free for the first five years.

The scheme is now available to first-time buyers purchasing a new-build home up to the regional price cap, which in the East Midlands is £261,900.

Jade said: “I’m so proud to call this our home, it is such a great achievement to have been able to buy our own house at our age. Having our own house is such a good investment for our – and our children’s – future.

“My dream home was always a new build.

"We were renting our previous property in Wellingborough through the council. We had been looking for about two or three years and are over the moon to have found our forever home.

“The Help to Buy scheme made it possible for us. Without the scheme, it would have taken us a lot longer to buy a house of this size – it would have taken a lot more saving.”

Having moved from a three-bedroom rented property to a four-bedroom semi-detached house, the family is appreciating the high-quality finish and extra space they now have in their new home.

Jade said: “I was very specific in what I wanted. We needed more space, especially with the newborn on the way, and I wanted an open-plan kitchen/diner.

“The 'Sharnbrook' became available and with the Help to Buy scheme we were able to afford it. We visited it straight away and it was perfect.

“I love that the kitchen is big enough to have our dining table in, so we can entertain when lockdown is over.

“We were able to choose specifics like tiling, flooring, and kitchen cabinets. It’s our first property and it was made specifically for us.

"There is not even a comparison between our previous rented property and our new home. Everyone is so much happier, we love it.”

As well as finding the perfect home, the couple fell in love with the location.

Jade said: “Our children’s godparents already live in Stanton Cross and when we visited them last year, we absolutely fell in love with the development.

"We knew this was where we wanted to buy our forever home.

“Our children love it here. All the kids can play together and did do before the lockdown.

"That is something I loved because they were never able to do that where we used to live.

"I did not like the area and I didn’t feel comfortable letting them out by themselves, but I do not have that same worry here.

"I cannot wait for them to be able to go and play with all the other children on the site. I feel very safe letting my child out in this area.

“There is a Stanton Cross community group on Facebook, where everyone helps each other out. There is a lot posted on there about up and coming things on the development.

“A primary school is also being built at Stanton Cross, which my middle child will be going to next year. There are also lovely schools close by in Wellingborough.

“We’re surrounded by fields, so have already been on lots of walks.

"We are just down the road from the train station and from there it isn’t that much further into town. It takes less than ten minutes to drive from the estate into the centre.

“We are surrounded by everything we could need. We are close to the countryside and close to the town, everything is easy to reach.”