Newbuild estate where you have a chance to buy a home for JUST £1 through pioneering housing scheme 

A newbuild estate where homes can be bought for just £1 has been hailed as ‘life-changing’ by some of its first residents.  

People can buy three and four-bedroom houses on the £34million Marches estate in Wolverhampton using a help-to-buy scheme. 

Of the complex’s 300 homes, 100 are available to residents for just a pound after renting for 25 years as part of a loyalty premium. 

The plan was set up for hardworking people who have struggled to save for a deposit and want to fulfil the dream of owning their home. 

The £34million Marches newbuild estate in Wolverhampton has around 300 homes available

The complex has 100 houses that can be bought for a pound as part of a loyalty premium

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The newbuild estate in Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, under construction

Aaron Parsons and Tim Perry are among the first 86 people who have successfully applied for the Help to Own scheme in Wednesfield

The scheme allows people to build up a loyalty premium through monthly payment plans, which can be claimed back in cash when they leave the property or used as a deposit after 20 years. 

After living in the property for 25 years, they can buy their home for just £1. 

Those looking to buy on the estate don’t need a traditional deposit, and only have to pay a £1,000 application fee.

And when they are moved in, residents have free rein on how they would like their homes decorated and, unlike some renting rules, are allowed to have pets. 

If they choose to leave the scheme, they can do so without a penalty and three months’ notice.   

It has become so popular that even the show homes have been sold off.  

Aaron Parsons, 32, and Tim Perry, 30, are among the first 86 people who have successfully applied for the Help to Own scheme in Wednesfield. 

Mr Perry was previously homeless and sofa-surfing before buying his dream property, according to City of Wolverhampton Council. 

The scheme is also aimed at helping key workers get on the property ladder, and will house a key worker in more than 41 per cent of homes on the site (Pictured – a resident, James Taylor)

‘It is life-changing to purchase a house on this scheme’, Mr Parsons previously told Black Country Live. 

‘Our experience of finding a decent home to rent has been really tough, we have experienced homelessness, and then moved into a social housing property.

‘We were living in a one-bed council flat, with no way of getting on to the property ladder. 

‘It is too good to be true, so much so we thought it was a scam. We are in here.

‘I was just scrolling through Facebook and came across an advert and I thought, “You know what I will read into that”.

‘I thought I might apply for it. I didn’t tell Tim and once we got accepted, I told Tim.’

Mr Perry added: ‘I feel ecstatic, it has turned out all right.’ 

The scheme is also aimed at helping key workers get on the property ladder, and aims to house a key worker in more than 41 per cent of homes on the site.