Childhood sweethearts Katie Dunne and Josh Gleiwitz have bought their first home in Tamworth with the aid of a deposit boost from Elan Homes.
The couple had previously lived separately with their families in the Birmingham area before buying their first home at Elan’s Dosthill Gate development.
They’ve proudly shared their new home on TikTok with one video viewed more than 40,000 times.
Katie, 23, and Josh, 24, have been together for nine years and had been saving for a deposit for three or four years to buy a home of their own.
“Friends are worrying about moving out of their family homes and getting a house of their own, but we started saving much younger because we knew we wanted to move in together,” Katie explained. “I’d always lived in rented properties but Josh’s family owned their house and his dad has properties he rents out. We knew it made sense to buy rather than rent.”
Katie said they gradually started saving more each month but didn’t put too much pressure on themselves to save.
“We’d been focused on buying an older property and doing it up because Josh is a carpenter, but when we saw the new Elan homes it was a no brainer,” said support worker Katie.
“With the older property we’d thought about buying, because it needed lots doing to it, we would have had no money left to spare after paying the deposit and fees. Elan gave us a deposit boost which meant we had a big chunk of money to put into the house.”
Their new home was under construction when they reserved it, giving them chance to customise the interior before moving in. They opted for a sage shaker style kitchen, with built in fridge freezer, plus amtico herringbone flooring.
“We got on really well with Catherine the sales executive – she was really helpful and patient when there was a bit of back and forth while we made our choices,” Katie said.
“When we were in the process of buying our home, we saw lots of people posting on social media with their new build experience and things they’d done to their home. The assistant site manager suggested we share our home on TikTok and we’re glad we did. One of our new neighbours messaged me because she’d seen my TikTok and started asking questions about the house. It made it easier to talk to them in person once they moved in.”
Their new home is a two-bedroom end terrace Adlington Special.
“The size of the house and the layout were the main things,” Katie said. “I’m a bit fussy and knew what I did and didn’t want. I didn’t want the stairs in the lounge and I wanted a slightly bigger kitchen with space to fit a dining table in. Both bedrooms are a good size and there are two big storage cupboards too.”
Since moving in they’ve quickly set to work adding their own stamp to their home. Josh has built a media wall in the lounge, they’ve replaced the white internal doors with oak ones, added extra sockets in the kitchen and tiled the bath panel to match the walls.
They’ve added fitted wardrobes to their bedroom and created a “zen den” in the spare room.
“All of the comments on TikTok have been positive, which is nice, I posted about our house in February and people are still seeing that content every day.”
Katie
Located on Dosthill Road, Tamworth, Dosthill Gate offers a choice of two, three and four bedroom homes.
There are primary and secondary schools around a mile away. Dosthill Park Local Nature Reserve offers somewhere close to home to enjoy the outdoors and includes a children’s play area. Shops and restaurants are around two miles away at Ventura Retail Park. Nearby Wilnecote train station offers links to Birmingham New Street and Nottingham.
Show homes at the development are open Thursday to Monday from 10am to 5pm. For more information see https://www.elan-homes.co.uk/developments/dosthill-gate.
First Time Buyer is an exciting bi-monthly glossy which takes a stylish and comprehensive look at all the options available, setting them out in an entertaining and informative way, and helping potential customers navigate their way through what is often a daunting and complex process. We dispel the myths, reinforce the facts and arm the reader with the tools necessary to make their homeownership dreams a reality.
