From tenant to shared owner

Ben Cosgrove was a tenant with us before he moved into a part-buy part-rent family home in Basingstoke. We popped around to see how they're settling in.

Ben Cosgrove and family had been searching for a family home for months when he found out about our part-buy part-rent homes in Basingstoke.

"I had a one bedroom flat in Kempshott, and Katy lived in a three bedroom house." Ben recalls as the family finish their dinner. "We had to saw a bit off the bed so it would fit in that third bedroom!"

With the town still in recession, Ben sensed it was a good chance to take the leap, and get on the property ladder.

Ben and Katy bought a 40% share of their three bedroom house in Popley, and haven't looked back since.

"We found out about this place in the May, and Debbie* was really helpful. It was so much better than the information we got from the private developers. Sentinel were awesome, we got the sense that you really want to help us, not just sell us something."

Moving into Popley also meant 'home turf' for Ben's partner Katy Whitefoot, and the four children - Ben 9, Zoe 6, Lea 5 and Beth 2 - and once they decided they wanted the place, Ben had to sort out a mortgage.

Ben, who works for a builders' merchant, adds: "We'd gone to the high street banks and they didn't understand what I was after, but our financial adviser knew what mortgage we wanted and rang around to get us the best deal."

After managing to move in during the summer holidays last year, the family are now enjoying new schools, new neighbours and the local amenities Popley has to offer.

"It's a lot safer for the kids to play outside our house than where they were, and we've got parks nearby and the Pebbles Children's Centre, which is brilliant. So we've got all these services right on our doorstep. I know some people think Popley's not that nice, but we're having a great time here."

* Debbie Cooke our Marketing Officer