WORKING overtime during the pandemic enabled a young Evesham couple to buy their first home together sooner than planned.
Paramedic Benjy Torrance and canine carer Hannah Greaves, both 24, purchased a new two-bedroom semi-detached house at Bellway’s Merry Brook Park development in Evesham.
The couple, who were both living with parents, had been thinking of getting their own place for about two years and were initially planning on renting a flat as an interim measure.
But after saving up extra money during the lockdown, the couple were able to step straight onto the property ladder.
Benjy said: “We had thought about renting for a year as we didn’t want to buy a flat, but after working lots of overtime during the pandemic and not spending money going out for meals we could afford to buy a house, so we thought ‘why bother renting?’
“Hannah found Merry Brook Park, so we went to have a look and we both really liked it.”
The couple set their sights on the two-bedroom Joiner house type, and after taking a look inside a completed Joiner at Bellway’s Kings Grove development in Lighthorne Heath, they reserved the very same day.
After reserving their new home in May, Benjy and Hannah picked up the keys on Friday 29 October last year – the day after their sixth anniversary as a couple.
Benjy said: “Nilesh, the sales advisor, had bought us a bottle of champagne, so we unpacked our first boxes and had a glass of champagne.
“It still feels quite surreal walking into the house and thinking ‘this is ours’. Me and Hannah have worked hard and saved up for quite a few years for this. Homeownership is a big commitment and it’s the next step in our relationship.”
The couple purchased their new home for £221,000 with a 15 per cent deposit of £33,150 and a mortgage of £187,850, leaving them with monthly repayments of just over £740.
“Even before the pandemic there was always the thought that by renting you are just throwing money in an empty pot,” Benjy said. “Back then a mortgage was probably £100 to £150 more than rent but now it’s almost the same.”
Benjy described the customer service he and Hannah received from Bellway as ‘absolutely brilliant’.
He said: “Nilesh was very good at explaining the process and seemed to go above and beyond. He always made time for us and even went to another development to show us a completed home.”
Although he was initially sceptical about buying a new-build home off plan, Benjy said it had enabled him and Hannah to put their own stamp on the property.
“Hannah always wanted a new build and it meant we could pick our own kitchen units from a wide selection. Wherever we moved the plan was to do up the kitchen exactly how we wanted it. Had we moved to an older house we would have had to get people round to price up the job, so moving to a new house saved us all that time and expense.”
The couple were keen to find a place in Evesham so they could be close to their parents and their places of work – and also because it offered the perfect balance between town and country living.
Benjy added: “Evesham is a lovely place with a beautiful river running through it. We are not in a city but it’s not so rural that it’s a nightmare to get to work or go to a shop. We have got all the amenities we need.
“It’s just got a nice community feel.”
