It is no secret that unless you come into good money at a young age, most people can't afford to buy their dream home right away. For many of us, starting small and climbing up the property ladder is how you can one day end up owning your forever home.
And that is exactly what Sarah Rathbone and her partner Pete did. Sarah, 42, originally from Heywood, Rochdale spoke to us as part of our Where I Live series. Each week we take our readers inside a different home in the north west to have a look around, find out how much it cost and how the owners have renovated to make their home their own.
Staff nurse Sarah now lives in her dream property in Tottington, Bury, with Pete and her three sons aged 14, 11 and eight. But just like many people, the mum-of-three had to work her way up the property ladder to get the beautiful four-bed detached home she owns today.
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“I bought my first home in Heywood on my own when I qualified as a nurse at 22. I was still living at home with my mum and dad and they pushed me into getting a foot on the property ladder," Sarah told the Manchester Evening News.
"They said you’re earning good money and it would be a shame to waste it, so why don’t you put your money into property. I was really glad they pushed me at such a young age because I bought at the right time before the property market started going berserk.
"I was really lucky back then, it was a new build two-bedroom townhouse and I paid about £51,000 for it, it was really low maintenance and great for a first-time buyer."
Sarah then met her partner Pete, 42, and made the move to Bury. The couple then bought their first home together in Walshaw in March 2014.
"Me and Pete bought a three-bedroom semi-detached house together. We lived there for about seven years with our first two children and then I became pregnant with our third child," the 42-year-old explained.
"The boys could have shared a bedroom but we just decided to work our way up the property ladder and managed to buy the four-bedroom detached home that we’re living in now."
The pair bought their family home for £240,000, which was out of their price range back then. They pay around £900 per month for their mortgage with the addition of between £650 to £700 a month for household bills.
"We really pushed ourselves at the time, it was a bit out of our price range and more than what we wanted to spend but it was an area that we really wanted to live," Sarah explained.
"Tottington is a lovely, picturesque area, there are loads of lovely walks on our doorstep and it’s just two minutes down the road from Ramsbottom which has loads of nice bars and eateries. It also has really good primary and high schools so I knew it would be a great area for our three boys to grow up."
Sarah and Pete have gradually extended and renovated their home in the eight years that they have lived there to make the property suited to their taste and lifestyle.
"When we first moved in, I said the house didn't need much doing to it but once we moved in I found jobs to do and I wanted to make it our own," the mum-of-three said.
"We initially knocked a couple of walls down and made our kitchen more open-plan. We had a large conservatory that was typically freezing cold in the winter and boiling in the summer, so we decided to put a proper roof put on that and we extended across the back of the house too.
"Then in February this year we took the plunge and decided to do a double storey extension and it has really made a difference. Although we had four bedrooms, one was a box bedroom so my youngest had a tiny room. We've now knocked through his bedroom and made that into one big open bedroom, so the boys now have near enough an equal sized double bedroom each."
Sarah added: "The extension has enabled us to stay here indefinitely. It was a choice of whether to sell and buy something a bit bigger or extend to make our house bigger. With the jump in house prices, to buy something bigger we were looking at adding quite a considerable amount onto our mortgage so we decided to go for the extension."
Describing the layout of her home now, Sarah said: "Downstairs we have a lounge, a big open-plan kitchen diner and an extension at the back with another sitting area and dining area and a downstairs toilet.
"Upstairs we have our kid's three bedrooms, a main bathroom and our master bedroom with an en-suite. Outdoors we have a back garden and have removed all the grass at the front for more space for parking."
Renovating their home has been rather costly, but Sarah says it will be worth it in the long run.
“We have spent a fair bit on renovations over the years but to be honest, I just think it is good to invest in your house because in most cases you are always going to get it back," she said.
"We spent around £60,000 doing the extension, but when I told an estate agent our plans for it, I got an estimated value of £440,000 - and I think our home might even be worth a bit more than that now."
One way that the couple have kept costs down over the years is by Pete doing a lot of the handy work himself.
“My partner is great with building, plumbing and DIY. He leaves it to me to come up with the ideas and then he goes and does it, he can do everything from fitting kitchens and bathrooms to putting radiators on," Sarah said.
"I don’t think we would have been able to do half the things we’ve done to the house without Pete being able to do so much for us."
Sarah also has a good eye and passion for interior design, which led her to create her home Instagram account @mytottypad_number_4_ during lockdown.
“I always said if I wasn’t a nurse I would be an estate agent," she said. "I’m just so nosey and I love looking around people’s houses to see how they’ve decorated.
"I’ve always loved looking at home accounts on Instagram and during lockdown when there wasn’t much going on I just thought I'd start my own. I just do it as a hobby and I really enjoy it. Whilst we were doing the extension I documented the journey and I love that I can look back on the process from start to finish.”
Describing the style of her home, Sarah said: "I like things to be quite minimal, I’m really into neutral and monochrome styles. I don’t like a lot of clutter, I like everything to look really clean and fresh.
“I just love that our home is really open and spacious. Our open-plan kitchen with our central island is great for entertaining. Everyone always tends to congregate at our house if we go out. It just has that welcoming atmosphere."
The couple have completely transformed their home since buying it back in 2014, and the property is now their dream family home.
“We’ve just got a couple of finishing touches to add and then we’ll be done. It will be nice to spend the weekends just doing family things rather than renovating the house and all of our money going into it," said Sarah.
“I’ve put my own stamp and style on it and made it homely, its exactly how we wanted it to suit our own family dynamics.
"It's more than big enough for us all now, I've got no desire to move at the moment. Once the kids have flown the nest we might downsize but for now it is our forever home.”
Giving advice to other couples and families wanting to move up the property ladder, Sarah advised: "Get on the property ladder as young as you can, obviously if you are able to get some help from family members that helps a lot, but I know not everybody can.
"It’s so difficult for young people these days, but just save as much money as you can. The younger you can do it the better because then you can work your way up quicker.
“I’m really proud of what we have achieved. We have a gorgeous, happy, family home and we are really lucky and I know that."
Want to get involved in Where I Live? If you transformed your house or flat on a budget or spent a big pot of money on it, or had to scrimp and save and make huge sacrifices to buy your own home - we want to know about it.
If you are interested in featuring in our weekly series, please email your name and details to phoebe.jobling@reachplc.com.
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