Shaya Tabatabai

Scholars Fields

Shaya Tabatabai lives in a 2-bed semi-detached property on the Scholars Fields development in Wythenshawe.

Having spent over ten years in rented accommodation and spiralling into debt, Shaya decided that it was time for her to address her financial situation once and for all and think seriously about her future.

Shaya was unhappy about the location in which she lived and the traffic issues when travelling in and around Manchester City Centre. She also wanted a garden and a home to call her own.

With her family living in Hale and always having a love of the Wythenshawe area, Shaya was determined to find her dream home and began searching the internet for help.

At the beginning of 2018, Shaya searched for properties and ways to help fund her purchase. Having previously worked for a housing organisation, she had heard a little about the Shared Ownership scheme and found more information offered by Garden City Homes on an online estate agent’s website. She began her journey to secure a new home at one of Garden City Homes’ developments and sought further information on shared ownership and others’ who had experience of the scheme.

Shaya decided that the shared ownership route fitted in with her perfectly and that it was the most affordable way for her to get on the property ladder. Finally, she had found a way to work towards owning her own home. The scheme fitted with her circumstances as she found that she could ‘staircase’ her way, over time, to eventually owning the whole property.

Shaya was disappointed that due to a previous debt consolidation, that remained on her credit file, at that time, her dreams of becoming a homeowner were shattered and the only mortgage that she was offered had extremely high interest rates. She was devastated but not deterred and she was even more determined to purchase her own home.

Shaya began saving whatever she could to pay for the required fees to purchase a house, despite a number of disappointing incidents, including costly car expenses. She decided to take a year to save and do whatever she could to get her into a better financial position.

One year later, Shaya saw two properties on the Garden City Homes ‘Ferns’ development, which was located close to her family, however, she narrowly missed out on securing a property by only a matter of days. She thought the world was against her as every time she tried to better her situation, her hopes were dashed.

Finally, early in 2019, Shaya was informed by Garden City Homes of the ‘Scholars Fields’ development. She wasted no time at all in registering her interest. In May 2019, Shaya was delighted to view the development’s show home. She took her father along with her, who used to work in property development and was sceptical of what the ‘build’ would be like. Both of them were so impressed with the quality of the build and the layout of the beautiful the show.

Shaya loved the location and was impressed with the size of the rooms. She had no hesitation in reserving a house on the development and the process for her began once again.

Shaya was the first homeowner to complete her contract at the ‘Scholars Fields’ development and received the keys to her home in October 2019. She was overjoyed to finally be moving into her new home. It was for her, a dream come true.

Speaking to Shaya about what she likes most about her new home is heart-warming.

She explained: “The amount of space I have now is amazing – the rooms are much larger than I imagined and there is definitely more storage space than I could wish for”.

“I have my own garden which I love and my favourite space in the house is my kitchen. It is modern and designed to a very high specification. It truly is my pride and joy”.

Before moving into her new home, Shaya had rescued two cats that had been left in bags in local bins. She is over the moon to share her home with her new space with her new friends.

When asked about the Shared Ownership Scheme, Shaya said: “Using the shared ownership scheme with Garden City Homes has been a life-changing experience for me and I have no hesitation in recommending the scheme to anyone in my situation”.