After joining Sovereign last year as a Sales Consultant, we caught up with Rachel to find out how she’s settling into her role and her new home.
Hi Rachel, can you give us a quick summary of your experience with shared ownership?
My partner and I had been renting for two years and decided we were spending far too much of our own money on someone else’s mortgage, so we decided to move back home separately to save towards buying our first home. At the time, we were both on lower wages and couldn’t afford to buy on the open market as we didn’t have a big deposit saved up.
We’d been registered with Help To Buy for a number of years and it wasn’t until we attended an open event that we really understood about shared ownership and the process in more detail. Asking any questions and speaking to the Sales Consultant about the development we were interested in was really useful.
After attending, we made sure to register for property alerts to keep up to date with any new information about the development, and to ensure that we did not miss out on applying for the new homes.
When you got the keys, how did you go about making your house a home?
I get a lot of inspiration for ways to decorate my home from following interior, home and DIY accounts on Instagram! Mrs Hinch has become a best friend of mine (not literally) but it has now become an ongoing joke with my family where I help them buy the famously named products – Dave (a fluffy duster) has to be my absolute fave!
As most people know who rent, you have the trouble of not being able to decorate or hang photos up which can really restrict you from adding personal touches and making it homely. Now we have our own place, we’re blessed with the freedom of being able to decorate and have made what was a blank canvas into a warm and welcoming home! We worked so hard to save for our home so it’s been all about making it homely, putting a stamp on it and making it ours.
For your daily dose of home inspiration, be sure to follow us on Instagram @sovereignlivinguk
Since buying your shared ownership home you’ve also started your new role as a Sales Consultant for Sovereign Living. What’s been the most rewarding aspect of your job so far?
The most rewarding aspect of being a Sales Consultant at Sovereign definitely has to be helping our customers through every step of the process of buying their dream home - from the moment they first enquire about a development, to handing them the keys on completion day. Seeing the smile on our customer’s faces, and the weight drop off their shoulders when they move in to their very own brand new home is amazing!
Do you have any stand out stories from customers you’ve sold homes to?
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many customers from all walks of life which is a wonderful part of the job! A particular stand out story for me is a family who applied for their dream home after a long period of house hunting. They were keen to stay in the local area due to their connection to schools, family and friends, so they were absolutely over the moon when I called to say their application had been successful! The following week, I showed them round the home and I remember tears of joy when they were walking round - they never thought this would ever happen. Once they had completed on their new home, they even invited me in for a cup of tea to thank me for my time and patience with their sale. It’s so rewarding to help people onto the property ladder and knowing that the wait is so worthwhile.
Why would you recommend shared ownership?
Shared ownership is an amazing way to get on the property ladder and is the most affordable way without needing a huge salary. Whether you don’t have a huge deposit saved, you’re looking to buy on your own or the area you’re wanting to buy in is expensive, shared ownership is a fantastic opportunity to get your foot on the ladder!