Even living on the very outskirts of London Phoebe Williams and her partner Beckham Holks were paying out close to £20,000 per year to live in a chilly maisonette.
The young couple were slowly putting together a deposit fund so that they could buy a place of their own.
This year, thanks to a family inheritance, they were able to speed up their plans and exchange their two-bedroom, £1,500pcm rental, for a newly built £410,000 three-bedroom house by Fernham Homes (fernham-homes.co.uk).
“I didn’t want to rent long term,” says Williams. “I would rather buy something for myself than pay for someone else’s property.”
Williams, 25, and Holks, 24, had been renting out in Orpington, chosen because it was the most convenient spot for their respective jobs – Beckham is a sports coach and Phoebe is a crime scene investigator based at Brixton police station.
But when it came to putting down permanent roots they decided to head 40 miles east, to the excessively pretty market town of Faversham.
Not only is it considerably more fetching than Orpington, but it is close to where Williams was born and raised in Canterbury.
Holks has also lived in Kent, which meant they had a ready-made network of family and friends when they made the move last month.
And Faversham offers more than picture-postcard looks, independent shops, and lovely surrounding countryside.
It is a location with great potential for growth. Earlier this month Prince William’s Duchy of Cornwall was granted planning permission to build 2,500 new homes on the south east fringes of the town, along with a new school, health and community facilities, and offices. Work is due to start on the 340-acre site next year.
At the moment Williams and Holks are still busy unpacking boxes and putting together flat pack furniture, but they are already loving the freedom of having their own space.
“Because it is brand new it is all clean and fresh,” says Williams. “I really like the fact that we will be able to do what we want with it, because when you are renting you are so limited.”
One slight downside about the move is that it has increased the couple’s commuting time. Williams drives back to Orpington to get to work.
Parking by the station is free and she can then hop on a train to Brixton. The journey takes about an hour and 20 minutes each way.
“I am not finding it too bad at the moment,” she says. “And it is worth it to have a place of our own.”
