“It’s a great feeling now owning the whole property. Knowing that it’s my property is a great feeling.”
Carol Whyte, who initially bought a 50 percent share in a one bedroom flat in Cygnet Court in Spalding in 2007, praised Longhurst Group’s Sales Team for helping her on her journey to outright ownership.
It's a great feeling now owning the whole property. Knowing that it's my property is a great feeling."
“It’s been really easy.”
Those are the words of one former shared owner who’s gone on to staircase and now owns her own home outright.
Carol Whyte, who initially bought a 50 percent share in a one bedroom flat in Cygnet Court in Spalding in 2007, praised Longhurst Group’s Sales Team for helping her on her journey to outright ownership.
“I’ve dealt with Diane Morris as my main point of contact on the Sales Team and she’s been incredible,” Carol said.
“I’m sure the rest of the team are just as good, but I’ve been talking to her about the whole process and she’s been amazing and guided me along.
“Whenever I’ve needed to speak to someone, she’s been there and made it a lot easier for me.
“It’s a great feeling now owning the whole property. Knowing that it’s my property is a great feeling.”
Carol initially bought her half share in the flat in 2007 when property prices were increasing. She said that the affordability of getting onto the housing ladder was what made Shared Ownership appealing to her at the time.
“In 2007, the house prices were doing nothing but going up and in my eyes there was no way they were going any other way,” she added.
“I wasn’t going to get a mortgage on the salary I was on. When I bought my property, there were zero percent deposits available too, so it made perfect sense for me to go ahead.
“The affordability of being able to get onto the housing ladder was great.
“The option of staircasing was made very clear at the outset and that it was available to me at any time. What really appealed to me was that it didn’t have to just be done in big chunks.
“The option was there to do it in small increments, which was great.
“It wasn’t on my mind to own it outright when I initially purchased it – my plan was very much to see what happens and how things progressed.
“But, as it happened, the opportunity came along as I changed jobs and my salary increased. Then, when property prices dropped slightly and I could have it revalued, it made logical sense to me to go ahead and buy it outright.”
Asked about her experience of dealing with the Longhurst Group Sales Team, Carol said she couldn’t speak highly enough of them all.
“Personally, I found the Sales Team beyond helpful,” she added.
“I can’t praise Diane highly enough, but even when she was off, the rest of the team picked my case up in her absence. The whole team was super.”
