First-time buyer achieves her dream
After renting in London for a decade, Nyha Pasha's dreams came true with her apartment at Bellway London's Fielders Quarter development at Barking Riverside.
"It took a week or so for it to sink in."
There were times when 34-year-old project co-ordinator Nyha Pasha feared she would never be able to get on the housing ladder in London. But, after a decade of renting in the capital – and then moving back in with her parents in Norfolk to give her savings a boost – she finally amassed enough money to put down a deposit.
Nyha realised her long-held dream of buying her own home in the capital when she purchased a £260,995 one-bedroom apartment at Bellway London’s Fielders Quarter site, located at the up-and-coming Barking Riverside development. Although she hadn’t initially considered moving to East London, conversations with friends about the area’s buzzing restaurants and good transport links prompted her to widen her search. Nyha put down a deposit of £20,000 on her new apartment, leaving her with monthly mortgage payments of £1,200.
Moved in: 2024
Worth the wait
Nyha had already saved up a sizeable amount when her landlady in Peckham (southeast London) decided to sell up in 2022 – an event which, as things turned out, would help her get to her target sooner.
“I decided that my best course of action was to go back to live with my parents in Great Yarmouth and save as much as I could to try to get a deposit together to buy a place in London", she says.
“Thankfully, I rarely had to travel from Norfolk to my office and back in the same day as I only worked two days a week in London then and could stay over with friends when I needed to.
“I had been saving for a deposit anyway but it was hard to do so while paying rent, but going back home gave my savings a real boost and a pay rise helped. By November 2023 I had amassed enough to think about securing a mortgage.”
Customer Stories
“I was impressed by the stylish show apartment and spoke to the sales advisors, Sacha and Sue, who were very friendly and helpful.”
A smooth experience as a first-time buyer
Nyha started searching online and found Bellway London’s Fielders Quarter development at Barking Riverside.
She says: “I had never really considered going out to the east but a lot of people were talking about it and how you could get into central London really easily. I have friends who live in Barking and they told me it’s quite a buzzing place with good cafes, restaurants and bars.
"I visited Fielders Quarter and was impressed by the stylish show apartment and spoke to the sales advisors, Sacha and Sue, who were very friendly and helpful. They told me that Bellway were offering an incentive, which helped towards the price of a one-bedroom apartment. I reserved the finished apartment in late November 2023 and moved in just weeks later in January 2024. When I got the keys to my very own home in London I could scarcely believe it. There were times when I thought I would never be able to afford to buy in London and it took a week or so for it to sink in that I had actually done it.
I can walk out of my apartment door and be at the office three quarters of an hour later. It’s brilliant.”
Perfectly located
With a commute to the office that can take as little as 45 minutes, Nyha is delighted with the location of her new home.
She says: “I can walk to the nearby Barking Riverside station and catch an overground train to Barking, then go from there to Cannon Street on the District Line. On a good day, I can walk out of my apartment door and be at the office three quarters of an hour later. It’s brilliant.
“I have used the Uber boat service which runs from a designated pier close by but I tend to save that for special occasions when people come to visit me and we can take a very scenic route into London.”
My dream come true
When working from home, Nyha now has the space for a range of working stations: "It’s good to have the space to set up where I want which is sometimes in my bedroom and sometimes in the living area. There are floor-to-ceiling windows in the apartment which flood the interior with natural light, making it a pleasant working environment."
Nyha is equally enthusiastic about the convenience of the residents-only gym and concierge service at Fielders Quarter: “I use the on-site gym a couple of times a week. It is so handy having it on my doorstep so that I can choose when I want to go without it being a big deal. The concierge service is brilliant too. It is reassuring to know that if you miss a package they will pick it up and take care of it until you can pick it up.
“My apartment is on the first floor and I have a balcony which gives me a fabulous outside space. I have garden furniture out there and when the weather is nice in the evening, it’s wonderful to kick back and enjoy the fact that I have been able to realise a dream by buying my own home in London.”
Barking Riverside
Welcome to Bellway London at Barking Riverside – a collection of two new Bellway London developments set along the Thames, within one of London’s largest regeneration areas.
The award-winning waterside development is transforming into a vibrant new community of 10,000 new homes, a new overground station, Uber Boat stop, plus 7 new schools including an OFSTED ‘outstanding’ primary.