Independent women buy homes in Hilton

Wed, Sep 13th 2006, 11:00

Single women have bought twice as many homes as men at a Hilton development, demonstrating the ‘Bridget Jones effect’ on house buying.

Recent research by Halifax has shown that nationally women are more likely to take out a mortgage on their own than men and this has become known as the Bridget Jones effect.

This has certainly proven to be the case at Redrow’s Debut @ Hilton development, near Derby, which features properties aimed specifically at first time buyers. Sixty percent of the houses sold at the site to date have been bought by single women compared to just 30 percent by men. The rest were bought by couples.

 Among those who’ve bought a home at the site is Catherine Eley, 22, a retail manager at Tesco. She currently lives with her parents and was beginning to despair because she was unable to afford a mortgage, when a friend told her about the Debut development.

She said: "I could never have afforded a mortgage if it hadn’t been for Debut. It was the only path I could go down other than renting and to me that is just dead money.

"The great thing about Debut is that the repayments are pretty much the same as the cost of renting a place of a similar size and, obviously, I’m getting so much more benefit from the money."

Catherine paid £93,000 for a two-bedroom apartment. She said: "Having taken out a mortgage on my own, my lifestyle will have to change. Now my friends will be coming to my place rather than us all going out. The fact that I could afford a spare room will make this so much easier."

 Catherine has chosen one of the larger ’Debut 4’ style homes, which has two double bedrooms and a shower room at entry level and an open plan kitchen/lounge/diner above. It also features a Juliet balcony and comes with a dedicated parking space.

Another young woman who has invested in a Debut home is 32-year-old Samantha Lemon, a civil servant from Derby, who is currently living at home with her mum. She said: "I never wanted to rent because I just see it as wasted money - so when I found out via the internet about Debut coming to Hilton, I was so excited. I even wished Redrow would stop advertising the launch in the local papers, just in case too many people would turn up and I’d miss out on the one I wanted.

"There’s not really anything else in the area that I could afford – apart from terraced houses requiring lots of upgrading. This way, I get a new home that’s within my price range, with no maintenance to worry about. I like the fact all my utilities will be charged as one monthly bill – it will help me budget as I know each month what to expect. I’ve also taken advantage of the Easi-Buy option – it’s like an interest free loan."

A range of affordable one and two bedroom debut homes is currently available at the Hilton development, starting at £59,995*. Customers have the option of deferring 10% of the initial purchase price as an interest-free fixed sum for up to 10 years.

Situated on the edge of the Derbyshire village of Hilton, the development combines a great sense of rural and urban with Derby town centre just a short drive away. The development also provides excellent transport links to Nottingham, Stoke-on-Trent and Birmingham via the A38 and A50.

To find out more, visit the development, on Avon Way, Hilton, to view the superb show homes, or call the Debut sales consultants on 0845 676 0293.

 

 

Redrow is also looking to bring the innovative Debut range to two new locations in the Midlands, with plans currently in the pipeline for developments in neighbouring Burton, as well as in Nuneaton. To find out more about Debut, and to register your interest to be among the first to hear about the two new developments, go online at

www.debutbyredrow.co.uk.