Living with parents helped soon-to-be married couple save for their dream home

The couple came from families at opposite ends of the country. Akshay, 30, is from London, while Kanan, 29, was brought up in Leicester. As both of them love to visit their families, it was a priority to find somewhere that would be within easy reach of both. A look at the map had identified Buckinghamshire as a good place to begin their search, so the two first time buyers focused their house hunting in that area.

“We started our journey looking for a new home in the Milton Keynes area back in 2023 as we were getting married in June 2024 so wanted to get everything ready before then,” said Kanan. “After looking at many developments in Milton Keynes built by various developers, we found Dandara, and were amazed at how spacious its homes were in comparison with the other developments we had looked at.”

The home that caught their eye was the three-bedroom Frogmore house type. “It had a lovely big garden and was so spacious inside, with a perfect sized kitchen and lots of storage space. All the bedrooms are a good size as well, so it’s easy to have guests over to stay – we were really amazed at how wonderful and spacious it was,” she said.

They bought their new home together for £445,000, but since they had continued living with their parents instead of renting, they saved enough to put down a substantial deposit of £112,000. They were also able to take advantage of some of Dandara’s schemes for first-time buyers. “We used incentives including deposit and mortgage payments,” said Kanan. Once they had found their ideal property, it took just a few weeks for the purchase to go through, and they were able to move in December 2023, in plenty of time before their wedding. “The whole process only took four weeks for us; it was very smooth, and we were provided with all the necessary important information throughout the process. In the end we were one of the first to move into the development.”

The couple are settling in and getting to know the area. Kanan works as a pharmacist at Bedford hospital, which is only a 20-minute drive, and the village of Wavendon is conveniently placed so she can get there without having to drive through the Milton Keynes traffic. Akshay, a Statistician, works at home and is comfortably settled in the smallest bedroom which has made an ideal study for him.

“As neither of us are from Milton Keynes we are completely new to it all,” said Kanan. It was mid-way from our family homes for both of us and Abbots Place is very accessible for the motorway – if we need to go to our homes in Leicester or London we can easily get on to the M1 which is so beneficial for us visiting family. We’ve found it to be a lovely community here; there are lots of young or newly married couples and it’s a really nice environment to live in, surrounded by great people. The culture mix is good here as well and there are lots of shops just around the corner, including big supermarkets.

“At weekends we are just five miles from Milton Keyes centre, where there is always plenty going on. We love going for walks and there are so many nice places to go and explore in the area, so we try to go for a walk together most weekends.”

Abbots Place is an extremely popular development that is already 90% sold, with buyers attracted by the convenient location close to rail, road and airport links, as well as the family-friendly amenities, including a playground, basketball court and a well-regarded primary school within walking distance. With a pub and four fantastic public parks within easy reach, as well as Milton Keynes a short distance away, it’s easy to see the appeal.

Three-bedroom and five-bedroom properties are still available at the development, all featuring the attention to detail and internal specification that Dandara is known for. Homes have French doors into the garden, spacious open-plan living areas, a utility room, parking and, in some cases, EV charging facilities.

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