Welcome to Home Truths, the tell-all series where homeowners and renters spill the beans on what really goes on behind the scenes when buying, moving or renting a property.
Moving story at a glance:
Age: 32
Job: Financial Controller
Salary: £80,000
Sold: house in Chelmsford for £525,000, split 50:50 with ex-husband
Bought: flat in Leyton for £465,000
Flying solo or buying with someone: solo
Deposit paid: £100,000
Mortgage payments: £1,300 a month
Mortgage interest rate: 2.04%
Why did you decide to move?
I’d bought a house in Chelmsford, Essex, but soon afterwards my marriage broke up. It was my decision to leave, so my ex-husband stayed in the house and I rented in London.
It took about 18 months for the house to sell. We had bought it in 2018 for £550,000 and sold it last December for £525,000. We probably could have got more for it, but by this point I just wanted it sold. It had become very complicated with covering joint mortgage repayments and rent.
I won’t say that the move to Chelmsford contributed to the break-up, but being there definitely wasn’t right for me personally, which is why I moved back to London. It was too long a commute for me, and I didn’t really like the lifestyle there.
What’s your new home like?
It’s what’s known as an Abraham flat. They’re Victorian purpose-built flats that are typical of Leyton. It’s a terraced ground floor with two bedrooms. One bedroom is a double and the smaller one I use as a study.
It has a good size living room with a fireplace and a bay window, and a small kitchen diner, which goes out into the garden. I haven’t had to spend anything on renovations as it was nicely done already. I’ve painted a wall and bought furniture, but that’s it.
Why Leyton?
I have friends who live here so I’d visited a few times and I knew it had really nice pubs and places to eat. There are lots of nice coffee shops and the market here seemed really buoyant, it was totally different to selling in Chelmsford.
I looked at about 12 flats over around three days before I found this one, but each time I’d have to book a slot and there’d be people waiting down the road to view it before and after me.
Browse flats for sale in Leyton, London
How did you make it work financially?
I’d put a £15,000 deposit on the home I bought with my husband, but I only got about £10,000 of that back. By the time we’d sold the house in Chelmsford, I had a £50,000 deposit from that and my mum lent me another £50,000.
How easy was it to get a mortgage?
Pretty easy because I’d had one on the house we sold and my salary had gone up about £15,000 in the previous two years.
Any regrets?
I have no regrets about moving to Leyton. It’s hard to think about the Chelmsford house because I think I would have always made the decision to buy it, not knowing what was going to happen in the future.
The timing wasn’t great as we moved into the Chelmsford house in September and by the following May I had moved out. It’s a tough one.
One thing I do regret is that my ex-husband sold all our furniture without telling me. Obviously, he gave me half the money, but I wasn’t very happy about that.
Do you have a Home Truths story you'd like to share with Zoopla? We have a £50 Amazon voucher up for grabs if your story is selected. Email us at editor@zoopla.co.uk.