What I Own: We saved £90,000 while renting in London to buy our Barnet two-bed

Welcome back to What I Own – Metro’s property series where we speak to homeowners about getting on the ladder.

This week, we’re meeting married couple Benjámin and Dorottya, who recently swapped the stress of London renting for their first mortgaged home.

After walking past the new-build complex at Park Quarter one day in 2024, they instantly enquired online about moving in – and were some of the first homeowners in the building to get their keys back in October 2024.

They’re now getting settled in their £419,000 Barnet two-bed – and have even managed to make some home improvements to accommodate their two cats, Millie and Django.

Here’s what Ben had to say about their property journey…

Tell us about yourself!

I’m Ben, I’m 28 years old and I’ve owned a window cleaning company for the last three years. Before that, I was an electrician. My wife Dorottya is 31 years old and she works as a quality assurance engineer. 

Whereabouts is your property? What do you think of the area? 

New Barnet. We love it as it is still very close to London and we feel like we’re closer to nature. We have everything that we need on our doorstep.

When did you move in?

October 2024.

How much does your property cost?

£419,000.

How much was your deposit?

£90,000.

What is the monthly cost of living here now, both mortgage and bills?

Our mortgage repayment is £1,880 per month. We don’t currently have internet in our property since it’s a new-build and they haven’t commissioned the cables yet, but once that’s done, it’ll be around £40.

The council tax hasn’t yet been valued but we think it’ll be around £200. Our electricity costs £71 per month, water around £30, and the service charge and insurance is £100.

How did you save up for your deposit?

We’ve been saving for about 5 years together. We were renting a one-bedroom flat for £1,100 and later on £1,175, which saved us a lot of money compared to the renting market averages.

We’ve always been careful and we watch what we spend our money on. We saved a lot on organising our food shopping once a week and eating home-cooked food, cutting out takeaways, and no impulsive shopping. We also didn’t have any loans.

What was the process of getting a mortgage like for you? Did you find any parts challenging?

It was really quick as we had a good mortgage adviser who guided us through the process and answered all of our questions.

The challenging part was getting our bank statements in order, as we had to gather two years’ worth of monthly statements from our joint account and our personal accounts. It was an annoyingly long process.

We also received a lot of paperwork from our solicitor and mortgage advisor like the mortgage deed, which wasn’t an easy read. It was hard to digest it.

Can you share details on your mortgage (rate/term)?

We have a two-year fixed mortgage of 4.76%. The full length is 25 years.

Where did you live before this – were you renting or living with family?

Finchley Central, where we were renting a one-bedroom flat.

What made you want to buy rather than rent?

We wanted our own place to call home and to get on the property ladder.

How did you find this property? What made you choose it?

Previously we lived in Finchley Central and liked the area but it was too expensive for us. We wanted to stay nearby, still in London, but in a more affordable area. Once we started looking we found nice flats New Barnet and during the viewings, we saw that the area itself is nice as well.

As we were coming out from viewing a property in New Barnet we walked past our current building. We had a look later that evening on the website, we booked a viewing two days later and put an offer in straight after.

We chose it for the spacious balcony, and the fact that we would be the first people to live in the property.

How have you made the property feel like home? What’s the inspiration for your interior decor style?

We wanted our place to feelcosy and welcoming. We focused on neutral tones with some industrial bits, and we’re always inspired by Canva and Pinterest, but it’s still a work in progress!

We’re planning to update the hallway, finish the bathroom, install a full-wall fixed mirror with LED strips, and add more personal touches to the living room and main bedroom.

So far, we’ve changed the bathroom’s hand wash basin on a pedestal to a cupboard with a new hand wash basin on top. We also made our balcony cat-proof as we have two cats.

What’s your favourite room and why?

Our favourite area in the property is the open-plan kitchen/living room/balcony.

We love it as we have a nice and large area where we can have our friends and family together without being on top of each other.

Do you feel like you have enough space?

Yes, it’s enough for the two of us and I think later if we plan to have a baby, we will still have enough space for all of us.

Do you have plans to change the property?

No, we’re happy here.

Are there any problems with the property that you have to deal with?

As it is a new build we don’t currently have internet in our property. We moved in last October, and at the time, we were told the internet installation would be completed within two weeks.

However, the cabling work was only recently finished. We’re now waiting for the activation and commissioning on their end, which we hope will happen within the next few weeks. Once that’s done, we’ll be able to order an internet package from our chosen provider.

What do you want people to know about buying a home?

Take your time to do the research and have quite a specific idea about the must-haves in your future home. We knew we wanted two bedrooms, a balcony, a bathtub, and storage space.

A detailed list can be your best friend. If you have this strong idea, you won’t spend months viewing properties that aren’t suited to you. And get some basic hand tools!

What are your plans for the future, in terms of housing? Do you plan to stay here long-term?

Yes, we are planning to stay here long-term. We’ll try to save up more money and put it towards the mortgage to reduce the term or the monthly payment.

Shall we take a look around?

Do you have a story to share?

Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.

MORE: First permanent facial recognition cameras to go up in London despite ‘dystopian’ warning

MORE: Self-confessed ‘psycho’ stabbed neighbour 39 times in 39 seconds with a sword

MORE: Two teenagers arrested after woman in 60s killed in hit-and-run near school