Shared Ownership home a cut above for hairdresser Michelle

May 8, 2025 | Laura Whittle

A first-time buyer from Manchester has relocated to Wincham, Cheshire, after buying her forever home with the help of Shared Ownership.

40-year-old hairdresser, Michelle, escaped the rent trap when she purchased a 30% share of a three-bedroom home through Onward Living at the popular Brook View development.

Michelle had been stuck in the rent cycle for years but had always dreamed of being a homeowner and having a place with an outdoor space to put her own stamp on.

Michelle says: “Before buying this home, I’d been renting for over 20 years, so I was about 16 when I started renting. Then during lockdown, I decided to start saving.

“What led me to buying a home was a garden. That was the one feature that I really wanted, because everywhere that I’d rented before always had shared gardens or no garden. So, for me, having the outdoor space was something that I was looking forward to.”

Michelle discovered that Onward Living were offering homes for Shared Ownership at Brook View, a 103-property development from Russell Homes set in the heart of Wincham. She acted fast to secure her plot by registering her interest on the Onward Living website.

Michelle says: “I actually found out about this development by driving past, and I knew that Russell Homes were building, but I didn’t know anything about Onward Living being on here until my mum said, ‘I know you’re talking about Onward living, they’ve actually got a few houses up at Brook View’ and I was like, ‘oh, I’ll go and have a little nosy’.

“Onward Living had a couple of properties available, including this one which was called The Harper, so I did a little bit of research. There was a girl that I followed on Instagram, I looked at her house and how she styled it. It kind of got me excited and I was like, ‘I’m going to put my name down for one and see what happens’.”

When Michelle found out her reservation had been confirmed, she felt the stars had aligned and everything she had worked for had finally fell into place.

Michelle says: “The homes were released for sale on the 23^rd, and then when it got accepted that plot 23 was mine, I went and actually got it tattooed on my arm because I’m really into angel numbers. So, for me, 23:23 has always been a significant number ever since, and I think it’ll stay with me for the rest of my life.

“The day I got my keys was probably one of the best days. I got home from work, and I was just like, ‘Right. Prosecco, takeaway, then to bed’, and I was sitting upstairs and thinking this is mine, and it hit me… this hard work had paid off.”

As well as being pleased with her new garden, Michelle was also impressed by how much more cost-effective her new home was compared to renting.

She explains: “It’s super cheap to live here. I keep all my bills quite low; I do all the meter readings every month and it’s quite cost-effective I would say, especially for a single person.

“Previously when renting, the buildings were a lot older and I always found them a lot harder to upkeep. But I feel like with a new-build home it’s efficient, because everything is so well made – everything to do with the radiators, the heating, the water, it’s just so much easier than renting”.

Michelle moved into her new home at Brook View in February 2025 and has already made her house a home by putting her own stamp on it.

Michelle says: “Each week I’m doing new things with the house and ordering things, doing my own artwork that I’ve put on the walls, and buying plants as well. Things that you just don’t think is going to be a big deal, but it actually is and it’s been nice.

“I absolute love it. Everything’s brand new, I feel like it’s just a dream to live in. It’s so easy on a daily basis and everything’s clean and tidy”.

Shared Ownership helped Michelle buy her forever home, and she’d recommend it to anyone in a similar position who’s finding it hard to save for a deposit to buy on the open market.

She adds: “Shared Ownership has helped me get onto the property ladder because being in my forties I never thought I’d actually own a home. So, to be able to buy a 30% share of this house and then eventually to staircase is my goal – to gradually buy 100% of this house. And this is my forever home, basically. This is it now.

“So, yeah, Shared Ownership has helped me massively, because I don’t think I’d have been able to rent a house like this. I wouldn’t have been able to afford to carry on renting with the cost of renting going up quite a lot at the moment.

“I would recommend Shared Ownership to anybody, especially single people who only have one income coming in. Because obviously it is a lot harder to buy an outright sale on your own.”

As a first-time buyer, Michelle was really happy with the service she received from the Onward Living sales team.

She says: “The sales process was a dream if I’m going to be honest. Onward Living were a great help, plus Metro Finance [specialist Shared Ownership mortgage advisors], and doing everything through Watson Ramsbottom [solicitors] just made the process super quick and easy. I was really pleased with the process.”

If Michelle’s story has inspired you to find out more about Shared Ownership, you can contact the Onward Living sales team on 0300 555 0130 or email sales@onward.co.uk