It is no secret that over the last few years first-time buyers have been amongst those hit the hardest by the property market. From fierce competition and soaring house prices to the cost of living crisis and interest rates rising, it is no wonder would-be homeowners have faced difficulties getting a foot on the ladder.
It has been especially tough for those who have been unable to live rent-free with parents and have instead had to save up for a deposit - all whilst paying extortionate rent costs. But for people in this position, when they finally get the keys to their first home, the gruelling process feels all the more rewarding.
First-time buyer Emma Tse, 29, spoke to us as part of our Where I Live series, where each week we take our readers inside a different home in the north and find out how much it cost, how they've made their house their own and about their home-buying journey.
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For Emma and her partner Dom Thorp, 28, the process involved packing up and moving to Greater Manchester to be able to afford to buy their own place.
Emma Tse, 29, from Devon, met her partner Dom, who is an accountant from Manchester, whilst studying at university in Reading in 2012. After graduating the couple decided to move to Bristol as a central point between both of their families.
The pair rented in the southern city for six years before deciding it was time to buy - which is when they soon discovered that location was the key to finding somewhere affordable.
“We rented a cottage in Bristol which was lovely, but it was just on the outskirts of Bristol so there wasn’t a whole lot going on and we needed to drive wherever we wanted to go," Emma, who works in compliance for an investment bank, told the Manchester Evening News.
“When we started to think about buying a property, Bristol was just so expensive for what we wanted and we just really couldn’t afford it, so we started to think about moving somewhere else.
"There weren't a whole lot of job prospects down in Devon so 'we thought why not try Manchester?' Dom’s parents live in Salford so we wanted to be fairly close to them. We looked around all the new build areas that seemed to be along the East Lancs before deciding on Worsley."
Emma and Dom upped sticks and moved into their new build home in August 2021. The couple bought the three-bed property for £245,000 with a mortgage of around £900 a month.
“We saved for about six years whilst we were renting, it took us quite a while. What we’re paying for our mortgage now is pretty similar to what we paid for our rent in Bristol, so we knew we could afford it," said Emma.
"To be honest the coronavirus pandemic helped us to save because we were both working from home so there was no commuting and we weren’t spending money going out or on holidays.
“I'd say that as bad as the pandemic was, those two years really advanced our savings and very much helped us to get on the property ladder quicker. We probably bought a house a year sooner than what we thought we would."
Despite being able to save more, there were the pitfalls of trying to buy a property in the midst of the pandemic.
“The property market was so busy at the time because it was in the middle of the stamp duty holiday. It was also difficult because we were in Bristol trying to buy somewhere in Manchester and the coronavirus restrictions meant that we weren’t able to view anywhere in person," explained Emma.
"We did a lot of house viewings online and luckily Dom’s parents helped by doing some viewings for us and Facetiming us whilst they were there."
The pair were set on buying a new build and used the money saved from both their Help to Buy ISA's to put towards making their home their own.
"We knew we wanted a new build because we didn’t want to be under pressure to move as we both had to find new jobs in Manchester. Having a new build meant we could reserve the house in January and then we had until September until it was ready," said Emma.
"We both had a Help to Buy ISA so we were restricted to £250,000. I think we were quite lucky to find this property for just below that price. The next one of this house type is now £310,000 and we just wouldn’t have been able to afford that.
“When we moved in it was a blank canvas. We just had the four walls so we’ve just been able to go crazy with it and put our own stamp on it. With the 25% we got back from the Help to Buy we managed to buy all the flooring, do the garden and buy loads of nice new furniture.
"In total it has probably taken us about ten months to get it how we wanted it to look."
Describing the feel and look of her home, Emma said: "Our house has a lot of warm tones and there are a lot of dual tone colours, I’d say it’s quite a modern, millennial home.
“I used Pinterest for a lot of inspiration. There was one picture I saw of a home that had really beautiful herringbone flooring and they had a green sofa and a blue sofa and I saw it and thought I want that in my home - so that’s what I did.
"I'd say we managed to keep costs down by doing all the painting ourselves and then finding local tradesmen who gave us good prices to fit the floors and do our garden. We also waited for sales such as Black Friday to buy our furniture."
Emma gave us a walk-through of her home where she lives with Dom and her two cats Tilly and Teddy.
"The house has a small hallway as soon as you walk in but then it’s got a nice south-facing living room with loads of light coming in which is a great space for entertaining. Then you walk through and there’s an open-plan kitchen dining area with double patio doors that lead out onto the garden," she said.
"Upstairs we have our master bedroom which we just finished panelling not too long ago, it's a really nice neutral cosy room.
"Then we have the family bathroom, the spare bedroom where our guests stay and a third bedroom which is currently being used as our home office and mini home gym. There are three bathrooms in the house in total."
Emma started a home Instagram account @tailorhome_39 to document her home-buying and renovating process. "I decided to start it in January 2021 and documented the whole process from how we bought the new build to pictures of it now it's finished," she said.
"The account has grown quite naturally and I’ve actually made some friends through it, such as people who live in the area."
"The area is really nice, it is quite up and coming and most people here are a similar age, it's mainly young working professionals and first-time buyers."
Giving advice to first-time buyers who are wanting to buy a new build, Emma said: "The biggest piece of advice I would give is to ask for incentives. They have a budget and they can offer them out but if you don’t ask you don’t get.
"We asked and they gave us a choice of two integrated appliances for the kitchen, so we actually got our fridge freezer and our washing machine for free, sometimes they’ll throw in free flooring or they might pay for your solicitors fees."
Talking about saving whilst renting, Emma also said: "When I’d get paid I’d set a budget aside and put that straight into a savings account. That’s how I managed to save because I couldn't touch it.
“Save as much as you can but I don’t think you should restrict yourself. We rented for six years but we still managed to go on some amazing holidays. Just be more careful with your money."
Discussing her plans for the future, the homeowner said: “We will probably stay here for at least five years. I don’t know what the future will bring but we bought this house to be able to fit one child, but if we were to have more then we’d probably move.
“There’s nothing at all that I dislike or wish I could change about our home, I’m really happy with it and I love living in Manchester. It’s true when they say northerners are so much more friendlier than southerners. Everyone is always up for a chat.”
Want to get involved in Where I Live? If you are a homeowner or tenant that lives in the north west and you are interested in featuring in our weekly series, please email: phoebe.jobling@reachplc.com.
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