From Poland to Leyland: Long distance couple finally united with a place of their own

September 15, 2022 | Laura Whittle

After months of being hundreds of miles apart, Lancashire lad James and his Polish boyfriend Kewin are looking forward to a life of living together after snapping up a new home in Leyland with the help of shared ownership.

With Kewin, 23, in Poland, ICT support technician James, 30, had been living with his dad in Leyland while saving up to buy a home of his own.

James says: “What drove me to want to get a house was to obviously have independence, but also so that me and my boyfriend, Kewin, could have a place to live together.”

While the living arrangements weren’t ideal for James and Kewin, everything quickly fell into place once James discovered homes for shared ownership at Farington Mews in Leyland.

“I heard about shared ownership a long time ago through my sister who was talking about another development nearby,” says James “So, I kept it in mind and told myself I’ll start looking properly after I’ve been to Poland to visit my boyfriend in April. I’d saved up all my money for a year and so the timing just felt right.”

With a deposit of £4,500, first-time buyer James was able to purchase a 40% share of his new 3-bedroom semi-detached home, which had a full market value of £190,000.

James says: “Shared ownership has given me independence and a future to look forward to with my boyfriend. We can do all the things we want to do in our lives now, it feels like we’ve got our own little world together, it’s just so lovely.”

As well as offering security and a chance to get on the property ladder sooner, James says there are lots of other benefits to buying his home through shared ownership.

“The decision to buy through shared ownership was partially down to affordability and to be able to buy a brand-new house. I would rather buy a new home than an older house that I would then have to do up, because new homes can be cheaper to run as they’re built to be more energy efficient and more modern.

“Also, I wanted to have ownership of my own home rather than to have gone into renting. I wanted to at least own something and grow to own it outright over time, and this is something we both want to work towards in the future. The goal is to staircase to 100% ownership.”

James moved to Farington Mews in August and has already started to make his house a home for him and Kewin, who is set to join James and relocate to the UK permanently very soon. With their first home sorted, the couple now plan to get married.

James says: “Our new home is perfect. We’ve put the carpets down, we’ve got vinyl in the kitchen, we’ve got all our furniture in now, but it’s just so nice to have a whole house to ourselves.

“The layout is brilliant and reminds me of a modern version of my Gran’s home. There’s just something very homely about it when you walk in, it just feels cosy and the cat loves it too! It’s just all the space you need, you feel safe and secure in here.

“Having my own drive is such a bonus too. I feel so incredibly lucky to have that. The en-suite is perfect and the main bathroom is massive. We even have a WC downstairs too, which currently has the cat’s litter tray in, so it’s as if the cat has his own bathroom!”

When it comes to shared ownership, James would urge others to consider it as a way of buying their dream home at an affordable price.

James says: “I’d definitely recommend shared ownership to others, especially if you want to get onto the property ladder and you want to own your own place. I think it’s the way things will be in the future as a solution for people wanting to own a home, as things are getting more expensive.

“I only started saving for my ISA of May of last year and as soon as this house became available it was a year later when I’d saved, so it was almost like it was meant to be!”

 

If James’ 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