Last week, ESPC launched our latest first time buyers’ prize draw – the lucky winner will get £3,000 towards their first home deposit. The winner will also benefit from free conveyancing from one of our selected solicitor estate agents and ESPC Mortgages will waive their usual advice fee to help the winner on their journey to home ownership. The prize draw will run from 21^st January – 22^nd February and can be entered at espc.com/win 

Here’s a reminder of some of our previous first time buyer prize draw winners, and how the prize money helped them get on the property ladder.

Aimee Lawrie was our first prize draw winner back in the summer of 2017. At the time of winning, the support worker and nurse told us how challenging it was for her and her partner to save a deposit, particularly with other costs such as rent to pay.

The prize money she won helped her raise the deposit she needed to get a home for her and her family in Portobello. When we caught up with her after she moved in to her home, she said that the money she won “made a difference” and that it gave her and her partner the motivation they needed to buy a home.

Calvin Atkinson was our second winner, claiming his prize in October 2017. He had put all his savings and spare money towards a deposit for his first home: “I stayed with my mum and dad for 18 months, so pretty much every spare penny went towards the deposit, and then the prize money got me over the finish line.”

Calvin moved into a house in Broxburn in the summer with his two children. When asked how it feels to finally be a homeowner, he said: “It feels brilliant. It’s something that’s been on my mind for years and I can’t afford to rent, so owning my own house is a great feeling.”

Our third first time buyers’ prize draw ran in early 2018, and the lucky winner was James Sinclair. After his partner spotted the competition on Facebook just a few days before the closing date, James decided to enter. He confessed he was “just speechless” when he found out he had won. James had been saving up to buy a property in East Lothian, and the prize money helped him to secure his first home in Musselburgh later that year!

We announced our most recent winner, Louise O’Hara-Bathgate, in July 2018. Louise is looking to buy a flat in Leith with her husband and was absolutely delighted to find out she had won. She commented: “We’re struggling to find somewhere so this could really help.” She added that buying a house or flat within the year would be “a dream come true”.

Paul Hilton, CEO of ESPC, said: “It’s been fantastic to see three of our four previous winners use the prize money to help secure their first home, so we’re delighted to start the year with another first time buyers’ prize draw. It can be challenging for first time buyers to save for a deposit, particularly with other financial considerations,  and £3,000 can make a big difference.”