Kaity and Keelan’s story

ANMP0033 (2)

After living with Kaity’s parents and outgrowing their spare room with a newborn baby, the couple knew it was time to start looking for their first home together and take that scary first step onto the property ladder. Kaity and Keelan have now had their first Christmas in their new home and celebrated their little boy’s first birthday, and are ready to continue making more special memories and move up the property ladder.

We spoke to the couple on their journey with Gleeson: “As soon as we set foot in the Gleeson sales office something just felt right. The staff were warm and friendly, they answered all of our questions and just really went out of their way to help us. We had lots of bumps in the road, but we always felt as though the Gleeson team were rooting for us and doing their best to help."

"At the time Keelan was newly self-employed so unfortunately the mortgage companies would not take his wage into account when we were applying. Because we hadn’t anticipated this being a problem it totally changed the budget we had to spend. This led us to look at buying a house using an affordability scheme so naturally a new build home seemed like the right choice for us. With Gleeson, there really is an option for everyone and I would encourage anyone who’s sat thinking they couldn’t afford to own their own home to call in and speak to someone in the sales office and see what is out there."

“We had a six-month-old baby at the time so the thought of buying a property and potentially having to re-decorate a full house was a definite no for us. We were sure we wanted to move into something that was ready to go and as energy efficient as possible which we found absolutely was the case in our Cork. We moved in December 2022 just as the energy bill crisis was at its peak but we have been so surprised by how low they are, we really do wish we had moved sooner! Everyone that has been to visit our house always comments on how warm it is inside and we have been really pleased with how well it keeps its heat in the winter we hardly seem to have the heating on."

“The houses themselves are great value for money compared to other new builds we looked at, the Gleeson homes are well spaced out and the gardens are huge which is a bonus too. They also had a good range of incentives and schemes for first-time buyers such as the shared ownership scheme we went for."

“The process of buying our home was a bit stressful and confusing at times with all of the different forms we had to fill in for both the mortgage and the rental side of the property, but all we had to do was pop into the sales office or send an email and there was always someone there happy to help explain things to us. We would advise anybody who is looking to buy a home but unsure if they can afford it to go directly to your local Gleeson sales office. We found that Natalie at the office at Grangemoor Park was the most helpful person ever when it came to all of the different homebuying schemes which we had no clue about. She helped us find the scheme that was right for us and where and when plots became available to reserve. Without her help, we would never have got our perfect home!”

 

Buyer name

Kaity, 26 and Keelan, 27 

Occupation

Ward-based pharmacy technician and self-employed as a Fencing Contractor

Date of purchase

December 2022

Development

Grangemoor Park, Widdrington

House Type

2-bedroom semi-detached, Cork

Purchase Price

£125,000 - Shared Ownership 

Mortgage cost

£238.94 and rent £169.35