Our Wandsworth Home

About us

Hello, I’m Luci, a 25 year old London property owner, and the face behind @Our_Wandsworth_Home. I bought our two bed property in May 2021 alongside my fiancée, Charlie, and I can truly say it was the best decision we have ever made. Having lived here for just under a year now, and being able to take the time to reflect on our house-hunting experience – I would love to share with you the highs and lows of our property journey.

The decision

Before buying our flat in Wandsworth, Charlie and I had been renting a tiny property in Parsons Green, which was costing us £950 in rent a month respectively. To put some context behind the timing of when we decided to start property hunting – between July 2020 and June 2021, the government announced that there would be no tax to pay on the first £500,000 of property prices in England. To tell the truth – the stamp duty holiday wouldn’t have been a make or break factor in our ability to buy a property – but it certainly meant that we could now focus on the top end of our budget.

Finding the right property

In terms of property requirements – needless to say at the ripe old ages of 24 and 27, we weren’t looking for our ‘forever home’. What were our must haves, however, were; a modern build or newly-renovated home, garden space, proximity to public transport, and being in a safe location. To be honest – there were quite a few properties that fitted that description within our budget – but I guess when it comes down to it, you want to find a property that feels like you. After a couple of weeks of endless property engine scrolling, house viewings, and estate agent calls – we found a flat we absolutely adored. It was at the maximum of our budget – but with it being newly renovated, and in pretty much impeccable condition, it was a property we could move straight into, without the worry of added cosmetic costs. In short - it was the only property we had fallen in love with – and whilst people kept saying not to get too attached at the initial stages – it this was this or nothing. The nature of the London property market is competitive – so we viewed the property twice in one day, and submitted an offer later that evening.

Next steps

The main takeaway from our property-hunting experience, is that the submitting offer period is truly on the edge of your seat stuff. We started off with submitting an offer slightly under the asking price, but, after a few back and forth calls with the real estate agent, we ended up on a number that worked for both sides. Our offer was accepted after a couple of days from first seeing the property, and we were fortunate enough to have no chains involved. We got our mortgage through a mortgage broker – which, in my opinion, is the best money we have ever spent. The process was entirely seamless, and our broker secured us a mortgage we thought would be completely unattainable in less than a week. To be honest, the property owners were really easy to deal with – and everything from surveys to exchange to contracts, was wholly plain sailing. Come May 17th 2021 – we had our home.

Making a house a home

The final piece of our property journey, was making the house a home. I’ve always loved interior design, and many a weekend before moving in was spent creating mood boards, capturing how I wanted our space to look and feel. You only need to ask Charlie to know how hyper-organised I am – so after about two or three days from moving in, our flat was pretty much already decorated and styled how I envisioned it. Of course it was a work in progress, and definitely not the finished piece – but it was definitely the start of my obsession with home styling. I started Our_Wandsworth_Home so that I could join a community of people that love interior design as much as I do – and, what started out as a sideline hobby, has truly become my happy place and creative outlet.