Dedication to savings pays off for first-time buyers
Londoners Dennis Ashon and Deborah Muanza-Esendja are celebrating being the proud owners of their first home after several years of saving hard.
The couple, both 32, have bought a three-bedroom Birch home at Jones Homes' Shurland Park development in Minster-on-Sea on the Isle of Sheppey, after a long journey to save up the deposit they needed.
Both were living with their mums – Deborah in central London and Dennis in Barking – while they looked forward to starting a new life on the Kent coast.
Deborah said: "It's taken us three or four years of really hard work to get here. I know everyone's story might be different but for us, we had to do it all ourselves and be really disciplined to save for a property in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis. It's been really, really difficult but it is doable and it's extremely worthwhile now we're here.
"Over the time we've been saving we must have come down to Shurland Park 20 times just before pay day, to remind ourselves the sacrifice is worth it."
The couple both liked the idea of buying a home in Kent and they stumbled across the Isle of Sheppey development early in their home search after clicking on a Jones Homes ad on Zoopla. It prompted them to drive down to the development to find out more.
"From the first moment I stepped outside the car, I was met by the silence and I felt so peaceful," Deborah recalled. "We walked into the sales office and the comfort we felt, and the way we were welcomed, everything just fell into place."
Dennis said: "We did a tour of the Birch and it was amazing. It felt like a proper home. I remember going in and it was cold outside, but inside it was warm and the sales advisor said the insulation really keeps the heat in. It was clear they paid a lot of attention to detail."
At this point, the couple were still quite early on in their saving but came away having set their hearts on the Birch at Shurland Park. While they continued saving, they looked at other developments to see what their other options might be but kept coming back to Jones Homes.
By May 2025, when the Birch plots they were interested in started to be released for sale, the team at Jones Homes worked with Deborah and Dennis to help them secure their dream home.
"We took a big leap of faith and then we really started saving very harshly – no more holidays, date nights, Starbucks or Nando's," Deborah said. "But it paid off, and we had a mortgage offer by March this year."
Dennis added: "We're so grateful to the Sales Advisor Karen. She was a godsend for us and we're never going to forget her."
The couple now have the keys to their new home and are looking to a new lifestyle on the Isle of Sheppey.
Deborah said: "We love the peace and quiet. The local town is absolutely beautiful and everyone is so friendly and so nice. It wasn't a hard decision about whether we wanted to live here. The area is lovely and the beach is stunning."
"We've been here at different times of day and in different seasons," said Dennis, "so we really have a feel for the place. I like to walk and cycle and I can't wait to explore the cycle routes. The Isle of Sheppey is the right place for us – it's so much quieter but it's not too far from London, where we both still work. We've got the best of both worlds."
Dennis is a train driver based in Croydon, which he can reach in just under an hour via the M2 and M25. Deborah does hybrid working for a local authority in central London and can take the train to St Pancras on the days she works in the office.
They are both grateful for the positive experience they have had as first-time buyers with Jones Homes and both say they would recommend the company without hesitation.
"We were treated like family from the first instance," Deborah said. "There was no question that we couldn't ask and there's no area where I could fault them. We were treated with such care from beginning to end. They wanted to make sure it was the right decision for us and there was never a rush. I don't stop talking about Jones Homes to any of my friends."
Dennis added: "The support that we had was unbelievable even from the start. There was no pressure but they were there to help. We would definitely recommend Jones Homes to any of our friends and family. It was 10 out of 10 customer service."
There's currently a choice of two, three and four-bedroom houses available to reserve at Shurland Park. For more details, visit jones-homes.co.uk.
