National Home Buying Week: Smart Tips for Finding a Home You Love

Finding the right home takes time, but with some planning and the right support, it can be an exciting and empowering experience. Whether you are just beginning your research or ready to make your move, <a href="https://www.firsttimebuyermag.com/national-home-buying-week/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Home Buying Week</a> is the perfect moment to explore your options and take the next step toward a place you can call your own. It is also a great opportunity to explore alternative routes to homeownership like Shared Ownership, which can make buying more accessible and affordable.<o:p></o:p>
Here are some practical tips to help you start your home buying journey with confidence. 
<h3>1. Get to know the local area</h3>
Before falling in love with a home, spend time exploring the neighbourhood. A home is not just about the property. It is about the lifestyle it supports, so consider what matters to you day to day, such as:<o:p></o:p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Local parks and green spaces<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Supermarkets and essential shops<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Cafes, gyms and community facilities<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Noise levels at different times of day</li>
</ul>
Top Tip: Visiting at different times is a great way to get a feel for the area. <o:p></o:p>
<h3>2. Check transport links and commute times<o:p></o:p></h3>
Transport is one of the biggest influencers on long term satisfaction. Look into:<o:p></o:p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Train and bus connections<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Travel times to work or key destinations<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Parking availability<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Local cycling and walking routes<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
Top Tip: Remember to test the commute during peak hours to get a realistic view. 
<h3>3. Look at schools and nurseries</h3>
If you have children or plan to in the future, researching local schools is essential. Check:<o:p></o:p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Ofsted ratings<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Catchment areas<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Distance from your potential new home<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">After school clubs and wraparound care<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
Top Tip: Even if you do not have children, good schools nearby can potentially influence property value. 
<h3>4. Think about future needs, not just today&rsquo;s</h3>
Buying a home is a long-term decision. Try to consider:<o:p></o:p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Space to grow your family<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">The option to work from home<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Whether you may need accessible features later in life<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Future resale potential<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
Top Tip: A home that suits both your present and future needs will give you more flexibility over time.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>
<h3>5. Explore Shared Ownership as a way to buy sooner</h3>
Many people assume buying a home requires a large deposit and a big mortgage, but it doesn&rsquo;t need to. Shared Ownership lets you buy a share of a home and pay rent on the remainder. This can reduce the deposit and mortgage required, making it easier to take that first step.<o:p></o:p>
It can be especially helpful for:<o:p></o:p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Buyers with strong affordability but limited deposit<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Single applicants<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">People leaving relationships or starting over<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Those needing stability but struggling to buy outright<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
Shared Ownership can offer a more manageable way to buy, with the option to increase your share over time through staircasing.  <o:p></o:p>
<h3>Discover homes through Home Reach</h3>
If you're exploring Shared Ownership, <a href="https://www.homereach.org.uk/how-it-works">Home Reach</a> is a great place to start. Home Reach offers a wide range of homes in locations across England, helping buyers find high quality new build properties with a smaller upfront cost.<o:p></o:p>
You can <a href="https://www.homereach.org.uk/properties/areas">browse available homes</a>, check <a href="https://www.homereach.org.uk/guides-and-faqs/shared-ownership-eligibility">eligibility</a><a href="https://www.homereach.org.uk/guides-and-faqs/shared-ownership-eligibility"> </a>and learn more about how Shared Ownership works on the Home Reach website. It is a practical and flexible way to get started on your home buying journey this National Home Buying Week. 
<h3>Stay connected with us</h3>
For more tips, new developments and Shared Ownership insights, follow us on social media:<o:p></o:p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Instagram:<a href="https://www.instagram.com/homereachuk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> @homereachuk</a><o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/heylohomereach" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@heylohomereach</a><o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">TikTok: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/homereachuk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@Home_reach</a> <o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>

You can also learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.firsttimebuyermag.com/national-home-buying-week/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Home Buying Week, here.</a>

Myth Busting: The Truth Behind Shared Ownership with Home Reach

At Home Reach, we know that taking your first steps onto the property ladder can come with a lot of questions.
To help our customers understand how Shared Ownership might work for them, we&rsquo;ve picked out some of the most common myths around this alternative route to the housing ladder.
&nbsp;
Myth 1: Shared Ownership comes with a high service charge
Service charges apply to all leasehold apartments, not just Shared Ownership apartments. However, many houses have no service charge. &nbsp;Around 80% of Home Reach properties are houses, not apartments, which means that the vast majority of our homes have no service charge.
When service charges do apply, we clearly outline these from the start. Service charges are there to pay towards services and amenities provided in shared areas such as building insurance, communal lighting and maintenance.
&nbsp;
Myth 2: You can only use a preferred lender for Shared Ownership, who may push certain products
Choosing a mortgage is a big decision, and you want to feel confident that you&rsquo;re getting impartial advice.
At Heylo, we work with a panel of over 25 independent mortgage advisers. This means you&rsquo;re not limited to one or two options, and there&rsquo;s no bias towards Home Reach. You get to choose from a range of trusted professionals to find what works best for you. While we recommend you use someone from our panel, who will understand Shared Ownership, you are free to use other advisors if you choose.
&nbsp;
Myth 3: Shared Ownership homes are all new builds and poor quality
At Home Reach, we partner with top-rated, reputable housebuilders, and our due diligence process is one of our biggest priorities. That means we&rsquo;re selective about who we work with &ndash; and it shows in the quality of our homes. Our partners are trusted names in the industry who deliver great homes people love living in. Homes come with a 10-year NHBC warranty &ndash; so in the unlikely event something does go wrong, you&rsquo;re covered.
&nbsp;
Myth 4: You won&rsquo;t make a profit when you sell a Shared Ownership home
Another widely reported myth that can put buyers off, but this isn&rsquo;t the reality. When you sell, you benefit from any increase in the value of the home, just like with full ownership.
For example, if you buy a 25% share of a &pound;100,000 home, your share is worth &pound;25,000. If the home&rsquo;s value goes up to &pound;125,000, your 25% share is now worth &pound;31,250. That&rsquo;s a profit of &pound;6,250.
&nbsp;
A final fact you might like to know...
Heylo, the provider behind Home Reach, has a 4.6-star rating on Trustpilot &ndash; and 83% of those reviews are 5 stars. That&rsquo;s real feedback from people who&rsquo;ve made their move with us, and are now happily living in their own homes.
There are many other misconceptions surrounding Shared Ownership &ndash; from people thinking that the product is limited only to first time buyers, that they can&rsquo;t have a pet in a Shared Ownership home, or aren&rsquo;t able to redecorate their property. In fact, Shared Ownership is available to buyers who don&rsquo;t own another property, most Home Reach homes are now pet friendly and customers are free to decorate their home &ndash; requiring permission only for structural changes.

Northstone’s Keld development crowned winners in top property award

Keld in Barrowford built by sustainable homebuilder, Northstone, has been crowned winners of the Residential Development of the year category at the inaugural Lancashire Property Awards.
The new awards have been established to shine a light on Lancashire&rsquo;s best developers, homebuilders and their public sector partners, with the residential development of the year category in particular looking to recognise attractive, innovative or novel design features, exemplary build quality and strong environmental credentials &ndash; all of which being something Northstone has become synonymous for since launching in 2018.
Anita Jolley, Sales and Marketing Director at Northstone, said: &ldquo;To have our Keld development in Barrowford recognised by the Lancashire Property Awards is a huge coup; it shows the value that both our sustainability initiatives and design principles creates, not just to the local community but to housebuilding as a whole.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve a clear focus and vision on designing and developing homes that stand true to our business ethos. Keld is a shining example of this, and one that we&rsquo;re fiercely proud of.&nbsp; At Keld, we&rsquo;ve again considered how we encourage new communities, we&rsquo;ve introduced what modern luxury living looks like and how every aspect of what we do differentiates and evolves the thinking and perception of new homes that stand out from the crowd for all the right reasons.&rdquo;
All of Northstone&rsquo;s homes feature a whole host of leading features as standard including Wondrwall &ndash; an AI energy efficient lighting, heating and security system and Showersave, a waste water heat recovery system which reduces energy costs and CO2 emissions.&nbsp; The next phase of new homes at Keld are also equipped with an advanced specification as standard which includes even more insulation, solar panels, triple glazed windows and car chargers.
The success of Northstone's Keld development was described by judges as "taking mass housebuilding into a new space". Design-led and innovative, these homes have the occupier in mind from the start.&rdquo;
Situated on Trough Laithe Road, Keld comprises two-, three- and four-bedroom homes priced from &pound;320,000 for a 3-bed detached home. Complete with pedestrian-led streets for safer communities, flexible ground floor layouts and large gardens, each of the 239 properties have been intuitively planned.
Subject to build stage, purchasers can choose the exact specification of the ground floor layout to suit their individual needs and what&rsquo;s more shared ownership is now available at this sought after development.&nbsp; Not restricted to just first-time buyers, shared ownership now makes home ownership more affordable and accessible for all with prices starting at &pound;160,000 on a 50% shared ownership basis for a three-bedroom detached home with 4 bedroom starting at &pound;178,000 for a 50% share.
The Lancashire Property Awards was a black-tie event, held at Winter Gardens in Blackpool which celebrated the people and businesses that have designed, developed, funded and continue to manage the built environment across the Red Rose County.&nbsp;
To find out more about Northgate&rsquo;s Keld development, visit <a href="http://www.northstone.co.uk/development/keld">www.northstone.co.uk/development/keld</a>

‘Highly Commended’ Recognition at First Time Buyer Awards

Home Reach by Heylo has been awarded &lsquo;Highly Commended&rsquo; in the Best Supplier to the First Time Buyer Market category at this year&rsquo;s First Time Buyer Readers&rsquo; Awards 2024. This award reflects our continued commitment to helping buyers nationwide onto the ladder through Shared Ownership.
Delivering much-needed affordable housing to the first time buyer market for a decade, Home Reach is one of the largest Shared Ownership programmes in the UK. Partnering with over 130 housebuilders to deliver high-quality homes through the scheme, our portfolio spans over 200 local authorities &ndash; enabling house hunters across the country to realise their homeownership dreams. Our national presence ensures we&rsquo;re not only active in bigger towns and cities, but also in smaller suburbs, offering the opportunity for people to own a home in the areas they love.
Dan Jones, Marketing Director at Heylo Housing, said, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re incredibly proud to be recognised as an important supplier to the first time buyer market by the readers of First Time Buyer Magazine. This award highlights our dedication to making homeownership accessible, and is a reflection of the hard work of our team &ndash; congratulations to everyone involved.&rdquo;

Home Reach wins at prestigious First Time Buyer Readers’ Awards 

On Friday, we won the Best Partnership award with Barratt David Wilson on their site at Linmere at the First Time Buyers Awards 2023 ceremony held in London. A big thank you to all of the first-time buyers who voted for us.
Offering Shared Ownership homes on 21 one &amp; two-bedroom apartments located just North of Houghton Regis, the development has much to offer, including 90 acres of open green spaces, restaurants, shops and even a leisure centre, as well as having access to great commuter links to towns and cities including Milton Keynes, Luton and London.
Since 2014, and with Barratt David Wilson alone, we have been able to offer Shared Ownership homes at 136 developments across England &ndash; and have even more to come in the future!
We are proud of all the fantastic partnerships we have with a wide variety of prestigious house builders across the UK, and it&rsquo;s through these fantastic partnerships that we are able to help first-time buyers get onto the property ladder with Home Reach.
Unfortunately, the Linmere development has almost completely sold out, with just one final apartment coming soon. But we have plenty of other fantastic homes available through Home Reach. You can search all currently available properties here: <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.homereach.org.uk%2Fproperties&amp;data=05%7C01%7Ccmorton%40heylohousing.com%7C64a28177fdbd4a63079a08dbaf81c423%7Cb5d686c456e14b8db023ddb54f2e537d%7C1%7C0%7C638296744099869623%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=iK3bS6XO9fMqicChYlk%2FWGJsZTyFEEXVlfsOilqnyP4%3D&amp;reserved=0">All Properties | Home Reach</a>.

Our Top Tips to Take Care of Your Wildlife and Wellbeing 

Did you know, that in England, all of the gardens across the country account for a total area that is larger than all of England&rsquo;s National Nature Reserves combined, according to <a href="https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/habitats/towns-and-gardens">The Wildlife Trusts</a>. This means looking after our own outdoor space is more important than ever!
This research goes on to explain that how we plant our gardens matters a great deal when it comes to supporting our wildlife, as well as our wellbeing.
With this in mind, we&rsquo;ve pulled together some helpful tips that you can implement, whether in your garden, on your balcony or even in a window box to create a haven for wildlife and to help support the biodiversity in your area.
<h3><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">Plant a variety of butterfly and bee friendly flowers</h3>
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">Diversity is key when planting your garden, as a range of flowers and plants will attract a variety of insects and other creatures to your garden. Having a mixture of plants that flower and fruit during different seasons, will provide food and nectar for insects and birds throughout the year while also attracting different species.
You can also choose plants and flowers that are known to provide nectar to pollinators like bees and butterflies throughout the year. One way of introducing a variety of butterfly and bee-friendly flowers into your garden is to plant a mini wildflower meadow with native British wildflowers. Letting an area of your garden grow a bit wilder can also bring other benefits to the wildlife in your garden as the longer grass provides a habitat and a place to nest for insects.
If you don&rsquo;t have a garden or are pushed for space, you can still give the pollinators in your area a boost by planting a window box or a pot on your balcony with wildflowers.
<h3><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">Add water</h3>
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">Adding a small pond, bird bath or even a pot of water to your garden can provide a habitat for amphibians such as frogs and newts to thrive in. This will provide a valuable source of water and a place to bath for the birds. In the summer months, a pond or water feature is not only a beautiful feature but can also attract dragonflies to your outdoor space.
<h3><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">Plant a tree or a shrub and leave existing trees and shrubs in place</h3>
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">Larger plants such as trees, shrubs and bushes are important habitats for a wide range of species as they provide shelter and a place to nest. Try to leave any existing trees and shrubs and consider whether there are places that you could plant new trees or bushes where there aren&rsquo;t already.
Many tree species produce flowers and fruits that offer nectar and sustenance to pollinators and birds. Try planting a crab apple, blackthorn or hawthorn tree, all of which produce blossom and fruit, and are native to Britain.
<h3><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">Make some small additions to your garden to support biodiversity</h3>
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">There are a number of extras that you could consider adding to your garden to provide a habitat and a source of food for the wildlife in your area. Adding a bird feeder is a great way of providing food to your local bird population, particularly in the winter months when other food sources are scarce. You could even make your own bird feeder from a reused plastic bottle; go to the <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-to-make-a-bird-feeder.html" style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Natural History Museum</a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;"> website to find out more about how you could upcycle your used plastic bottles.
A log pile is another great addition to your garden as it provides somewhere for small creatures to hide and hibernate in and the conditions for fungi to thrive. It is important to put the log pile in a shady part of the garden away from sunlight. For more tips on how to make a your garden &nbsp;just right for wildlife visit <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/gardening-for-wildlife/">https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/gardening-for-wildlife/</a>
<h3><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">Create a compost heap</h3>
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">Similar to adding a log pile, adding a compost heap provides shelter to wildlife and the heat generated by the decomposition process makes a compost heap a warm place for small creatures to hibernate in the winter. Composting is also a great way of recycling the nutrients from your kitchen and garden waste into rich soil for the garden, reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfill at the same time.
To find out more about how you can create a compost heap using food waste from the kitchen and cuttings and clippings from your garden click <a href="http://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/make-your-own-compost-mix">here</a>.

The official Home Reach blog

National Home Buying Week: Smart Tips for Finding a Home You Love

National Home Buying Week: Smart Tips for Finding a Home You Love

Myth Busting: The Truth Behind Shared Ownership with Home Reach

Northstone’s Keld development crowned winners in top property award

‘Highly Commended’ Recognition at First Time Buyer Awards

Home Reach wins at prestigious First Time Buyer Readers’ Awards

Our Top Tips to Take Care of Your Wildlife and Wellbeing