“We’re all in this machine, and you can either choose to pay rent to someone else, or pay rent to yourself, and that feels better.”
Bettina, age 32, had been renting a flat with several of her friends throughout her 20s, but she knew in her heart that it wasn’t something she wanted to keep on doing forever.
So when she began working from home more frequently at the start of the year, she realised how important it was to have her own space.
Off Bettina went on her journey to climb the property ladder.
Where To Live
As a first-time buyer, there were several things weighing on her mind.
Choosing where to start her search, Bettina was trying to balance buying in an area that she knows she would be happy to live in now, but might not get that much return because the area has grown a reasonable amount already versus moving to an area that is going to go through a lot of high growth but that she might not want to live there for the next 10 years.
But knowing that we’ll be spending a lot more time in our homes and that homes will be so much more important to us, especially given this past year, Bettina knew that the decision was clear – having somewhere nice to live is really important.
“You need to go to the place where you’ll be happy for the next 10 years and you feel confident in that”.
Finding A Home
With that conclusion drawn, the next obstacle was finding a home within her budget.
There’s a perception of inaccessibility to the property market, but when it comes to buying a property, Bettina realised that the difference between £100k in the asking price on what you need in the deposit isn’t that big.
And suddenly it was like, “I could afford something in the area I wanted to live in, if I just get a little bit extra money.” Bettina explored the different options available through the government, but knew that those didn’t fit what she was looking for.
Peculiar To The Rescue
This is where Peculiar came in - “I didn’t have quite enough to access the houses I wanted to look at. Going with the Peculiar route gave me more flexibility” and at the end of the day, gave her a bit of a cushion, not having to spend all her savings on a deposit. Peculiar also helped her feel confident in where she was buying.
“It wasn’t like I had to compromise on so many different factors. I could actually get somewhere that I actually enjoyed living.”
The Peculiar home finder uses machine learning technology to find those hidden gems in different areas, giving you confidence that you’re paying a fair price for your future home.
A lot of people nowadays, especially around Bettina’s age, think that buying a home is completely out of the question for them, and would extend them beyond their means.
But Bettina says, “But when you look into it, there are more options than you realise. Having things such as Peculiar helped make it easier to buy something you actually want to live in.”
With the help of Peculiar, Bettina moved into her new one-bedroom flat in East London earlier this year! If you’re in the area, she recommends checking out The Gun in Homerton for a nice cocktail.
Congratulations on your new home, Bettina!
If you, too, want to find a space to truly call your own, check out the Peculiar platform to discover fair priced homes in the areas best suited to you!
Similar properties available with Peculiar
£343,000 or £1096 with Peculiar
