“IT FELT LIKE all the odds were in our favour with this house,’” says Margaret Giathi of the four-bedroom home she shares with her husband, Denis Gachango.
The couple had been house hunting for well over a year when a late-stage cancellation in September 2021 gave them the chance to buy a home at Silver Banks, a Glenveagh Homes development in the village of Stamullen, Co Meath.
“We thought getting mortgage approval would be the hard part, but securing a home was much tougher,” says Margaret, a healthcare worker.
At one stage we put a downpayment on a house in Waterford and considered moving our lives there, but in the end it didn’t feel right.
Once the couple decided to buy at Silver Banks, things progressed quickly. With their home just a couple of months from completion, they had to move fast to get their Help To Buy application approved and to get everything in order for their mortgage drawdown.
Their aim was to get the keys for their new home by the end of 2021, a plan which was starting to seem more and more unlikely as the weeks went on, as Margaret recalls:
The house was ready for us, but by the time the lender transferred our mortgage funds to our solicitor, it was close to Christmas. We thought at that stage that we’d be waiting until January, but both our solicitor and Glenveagh worked overtime to make sure we got the keys. We called it our ‘Christmas miracle’!
Dream come true
Owning a home in Ireland has been Denis and Margaret’s goal since moving here from Kenya five years ago. Like many Irish buyers, their savings ability was accelerated during the pandemic:
The Covid restrictions meant we couldn’t travel home to visit our families, which was sad, but the positive side was that we could put more money away. We became quite motivated savers.
Margaret and Denis, who works in logistics, decided early on to buy a new build. They had two main reasons: one, it meant no “stressful” bidding wars, and two, it allowed them to avail of the Help To Buy scheme.
“Once we started viewing houses, we were constantly doing mental maths trying to figure out how much we needed to contribute on top of the scheme for this house or that house. But it really was a huge help and it made buying a home much more affordable for us,” says Margaret.
Moving in
After saving, house-hunting and finally getting their keys, the couple had one more challenge to face: kitting out their new home. Margaret explains:
Lots of work had been done ahead of time like the floors and walls, but we had an inflatable mattress as our bed, no fridge, no hob, no kitchen table. It was an interesting first week, but we were content!
The pair worked fast, and by the time they returned to work after the Christmas break, the majority of essential appliances had been purchased and installed. From there, it has been a slow and steady process to make the rest of the house feel like home.
“We were very patient because we trusted it would all come together eventually,” says Margaret. “I would advise anyone in our position to take things slowly. Don’t think you have to buy the first couch you see just to have a couch. Figure out what is going to look right in your new place.”
Now, with their house starting to feel like a home, the pair are keen to spend some time getting to know their new location, too.
“Stamullen is a really beautiful area, and everyone in the estate is so friendly,” says Margaret.
It’s a big change from renting in Dublin, there’s so much more space and green, but we still have all the shops and facilities we would have had near us before. Our journey took time, but it finally worked out, and we feel extremely lucky.
At Glenveagh Homes, our vision is that everyone should have the opportunity to access great-value, high-quality homes in flourishing communities across Ireland. We understand that buying a home is possibly the biggest decision you will ever make in your life – but we want to make it your easiest. Click here to find out more about Glenveagh developments.
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