A young Northamptonshire couple have proved that a little short-term sacrifice can add up to a long-term investment.

First time buyers Paige McCarthy and Alex Mortimore picked up the keys to a newly-built Persimmon Homes property at Abbey Place in Roade after eight months of scrimping and saving for a deposit.

Twenty-three year old Paige, who graduated from Leeds University last summer, said that the Government’s Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme made their savings go even further as it enabled them to secure their new house with just a five per cent deposit.

“After uni we made the life choice to move back in with my parents while we saved up for a deposit,” she said. “It is not easy to sacrifice the independence of living away from home, but not paying rent meant we were able to save up even faster. If you want something badly enough you can save for it.”

“We also used the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, where the Government provides an equity loan to cover 20 per cent of the property value. That also helped to reduce the time we needed to save up.”

The couple chose a two bedroom semi-detached Sutton style property at Persimmon’s Abbey Place development in Roade.

Paige said: “The location was perfect for us, easy to commute to our jobs in Northampton and Bicester, and good for getting into Milton Keynes for shopping and socialising.”

“We had a fair idea what kind of house we wanted, and the Sutton design gave us everything we needed. It has good sized rooms and we have a lovely plot with a decent garden.”

“We could maybe have pushed ourselves to a bigger house, but we chose not to max ourselves out. After eight months of saving up we think that quality of life is important and with this house we can still enjoy hobbies and holidays.”

Abbey Place, on Ashton Road, offers a selection of two, three and four bedroom homes.

Persimmon Homes Midlands head of sales Claire Dearsley added: “For first time buyers there has never been a better time to purchase, as they can access the Government-backed Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, meaning they only need a five per cent deposit to secure their ideal home.”