Nicola Borel

Nicola Borel

HomeBuy Shared Ownership at Sale Road, Norwich 

 

Single mum Nicola Borel was living in rented accommodation in Norwich with her three children aged 9, 11 and 12. As a full time mum, she couldn’t afford to buy a home of her own until her own mother Shirley stepped in.

As Nicola’s mum was desperate to see her daughter and grandsons settled in a place of their own, she arranged for her to receive her inheritance sooner rather than later. With this lump sum, Nicola was able to buy a 60 per cent share of a HomeBuy Shared Ownership property in Sale Road that was being marketed by Orbit Homes, and she pays rent on the remaining share.

Orbit Homes Sales and Marketing Manager, Diane Webster said: “With house prices remaining high, and mortgage lenders making it more difficult for people to take out conventional mortgages, buying a home is beyond many people’s reach. However, the HomeBuy Shared Ownership scheme offers a viable way for people who either don’t have a large deposit or who are unable to raise a mortgage to cover the cost of a conventional house purchase, to get onto the property ladder.”

Nicola said that as a single mum, she would never have been able to buy a house if this scheme was not available. “I’m delighted to finally have a home of my own and my mum’s over the moon that my family now has some security for the future. In time, I fully intend to take advantage of the ‘staircasing’ option available through the scheme and purchase more shares in the house with a view to owning it outright at some point - it doesn’t have to be shared forever!”

She added: “I looked at all the options available to me when I received my inheritance and was impressed by the positive and professional response I received from Orbit Homes. I was allocated to a Sales and Marketing Officer called April Tatlow who was always extremely helpful, providing me with all the necessary information and keeping me up to date every step of the way and this took away much of the stress of buying a new home. I’d certainly recommend this scheme and Orbit Homes to others in a similar situation.”