The Oxbow development in Poplar
(Picture: Handout)Keeping key workers in the centre of the city is vital for London’s future, which is why Ariya and Kristof Csendes’s ascent onto the property ladder is such good news.
Kristof, 33, a senior nurse, and Ariya, 33, a multidisciplinary team coordinator for the NHS, had been renting in east London since before they got married six years ago.
At the start of this year the couple, and their six-year-old son Steven, were squeezed into a one-bedroom flat on the Isle of Dogs, which cost them £1,200pcm.
Despite London’s high living costs, Ariya had made a point of saving regularly for several years. In May, with the aid of the Help to Buy scheme which reduces deposit requirements to five per cent, the family were able to buy a brand new two-bedroom flat in the Oxbow development in Poplar.
“I could see how renting was getting more and more expensive, even for just a one-bedroom flat,” said Ariya.
“Our family had expanded, and in the future we may have more children, so we needed more space.”
Ariya also wanted a home she could put her own stamp on. “When you are renting you need to be so careful with everything you touch, but if you have your own place you have a lot more freedom to paint it and do what you want with it,” she said.
The couple wanted to stay local and went to visit the Oxbow development, the second major chapter in the ongoing regeneration of the old Aberfeldy Estate.
Since 2012 housing association Poplar Harca and developer EcoWorld London have built almost 1,000 new homes on the site, which is close to where Bow Creek meets the River Thames. Oxbow will add 1,600 more, along with a town square, workspaces, shops, and open space.
What it cost
Two-bedroom flat in Poplar: £570,000
Five per cent deposit: £28,500
Monthly mortgage payment: £1,000
Two-bedroom flat in Poplar: £570,000
Five per cent deposit: £28,500
Monthly mortgage payment: £1,000
The couple’s two-bedroom flat cost £570,000 and their mortgage payments now come in at £1,000pcm, so they are better off than when they were when renting a smaller home.
“It is much better,” said Ariya. “We were fully furnished within a week, and having two bedrooms and a living room means that we all have our own space now, plus we also have a balcony.”
The couple are happy at the thought of bringing up a family in a flat. “It doesn’t matter to me,” said Kristof. “The family is more important than whether it is a house or a flat.”
Prices at Oxbow start from £438,000 for a one bedroom flat, and £588,000 for a two-bedroom flat (ecoworldlondon.com).
End of Help to Buy
For nearly 10 years, many buyers who can’t dip into family money have relied on Help to Buy, using a government equity loan of up to 40 per cent, a five per cent deposit and a mortgage to fund the purchase of their first home.
After five years, buyers become liable for interest payments on the loan. The scheme has supported an astonishing 31.4 per cent of all new homes sales since its inception, and 36 per cent in the three years to last year, according to research by Savills. But it is set to be phased out and will close to new applications from October 31.
No new initiative has been unveiled to replace it but there are schemes in place to help first-time buyers on to the ladder, albeit in a more limited capacity than Help to Buy.
These include low-deposit mortgages, shared ownership and the First Homes scheme.
