First-time buyer developer of choice, Fairview New Homes, gave first-time buyers of London a unique chance to win £25,000 towards their first home if they buy with a friend and take part in a thrilling skydive together.  

Fairview ran the competition to highlight how buying your first home with a friend is a genuinely feasible route to home ownership that should be encouraged, and to help two lucky first-time buyers make the property ladder dream a reality. 

The trend of “Buddy-ing Up” has grown significantly over the last couple of years, with many first-time buyers unable to take the step alone or without a significant other to boost their affordability.

So much so, that a fifth of Londoners yet to get onto the property ladder said they would be likely to buy their first home with a friend. What’s more, Londoner’s confidence in buying their first home dropped from 70% in late 2022 to 40% in late 2023, further highlighting the need for new homebuying solutions.*

Londoners Buddy-ing Up

***In March 2023, Fairview launched its own “Buddy Up” scheme to empower first-time buyers to purchase a home with a friend.

The scheme is designed to help first-time buyers understand the feasibility and benefits of buying with a friend, in addition to providing them with expert legal advice and first-hand experience.

As part of the scheme, Fairview also covers legal advice and fees worth up to £2,000 and supplies a lifestyle gift worth up to £500 to anyone who buys with a friend.

Seeking an escape from London’s increasingly unstable rental market, friends Jack and Gemma, who had previously been renting together in the Royal Docks, joined forces to “Buddy Up” and get on the property ladder at Dock28 in Woolwich this year. “We knew we wanted to get out of renting after our landlord kept increasing the rent. We’ve rented together for five years and decided that it was the right move for both of us. Realising that we couldn’t buy in London on a single salary, we decided to buy together.”

The pair were surprised by how easy the buying process was as friends, “We were really surprised by how easy it was for us to buy a home together. Fairview were very transparent and guided us through the process. The only challenges came from solicitors, but these were more to do with the general challenges of buying a house - such as understanding terminology and figuring out the questions you need to be asking during viewings - rather than the process doing it with a friend.”

Jack and Gemma would recommend buying with a friend to anyone who is frustrated with renting: “We’d absolutely recommend buying as friends. We realise that for some it can be off-putting as there’s a societal expectation that when you buy a house, it has to be done with a significant other, but we decided to do it together as it made sense for us at the time. 

“We have lived together for years and enjoy the consistency and stability, and if you can get out of the rental cycle and have someone who you trust and enjoy living with, we would 100% recommend that you go for it!”

Jack (27) and Gemma (28)

Friends Dani and Danielle bought a two-bed flat together at NewHayes in Hayes, after years of renting and haven’t looked back since.

First-time buyer nurse Dani, who bought with her friend and Fashion Technician Demonstrator, Danielle after renting together said: “I had been renting in London for three years, and I was fed up paying someone else’s mortgage, when I could be paying my own. I saved as much as I could, and worked really hard, picking up extra shifts in my role as a nurse throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, but I was still not eligible to buy on my own. Without each other, Danielle and I would not have been able to buy a home by ourselves in London.”

Friends Dani and Danielle bought their first home together last year

Sales & Marketing Director at Fairview New Homes, Chris Hood, said: “For as long as we can remember, people have been led to believe that you have to buy your first home with a romantic partner or on your own. Sadly for many, that simply isn’t possible given the present day costs of taking that step and the fact that many people are yet to meet someone – you can’t wait around forever!

“Our hope is that this competition opens people’s eyes to the possibility of buying with a friend and helps them realise that in a technical sense, it really isn’t much different to buying with a partner. Buying with a friend can be likened to skydiving - At first you may feel nervous and apprehensive, but once you make the jump, all you feel is the freedom and excitement of being a homeowner.”

For more information about the Buddy Up scheme, or to find a new home: https://www.fairview.co.uk/buying-with-fairview/ways-to-buy/buddy-up/