First-time buyers often gravitate towards areas of Greater Manchester known for being more affordable. In the 'cheaper' boroughs - such as Bolton, Rochdale and Oldham - you're usually much more likely to find a reasonably-priced home, getting you on the property ladder much for easily.
Interior designer Imogen met Alex eight-years-ago at work. She was living with her parents in Altrincham while she saved up to get on the property ladder. In 2018, the pair began their search for their first home. The two-bed terrace in the Trafford town was right up Imogen's street, but her partner had some concerns.
The property was on the market for £230,000, but due to the state of the kitchen, the couple offered below the asking price. "After three weeks I just got that feeling of 'this is home now and whatever state it was in, it didn't matter because it is ours'.""We started with the lounge on the day we moved in because was definitely the easiest and most simple because all we needed to do was repaint and furnish it.
The couple spent between £20,000 and £25,000 renovating the entire house which they had saved up gradually over the years. They also managed to save a lot of money through DIY. "So that meant we actually ended up with about £20,000 spare which we didn't expect but we were really lucky as having that pot of money allowed us to renovate quite quickly.
"I’d say I'm quite brave with colour, I think every room's got a bit of colour. I tend to use a rule of three so if I have two accent colours then I tend to team them with a neutral colour. So for example in the lounge I've got blue walls and some pink furniture and then creams and greys. "When we first bought the house I didn't use Instagram so a lot of my initial ideas were my own ideas," Imogen said.
"I think if it ever became like that then it wouldn't be for the right reasons, there's a lot more to worry about than how many likes and followers I get." "We’ve got a little yard at the front too. It’s just pavement and stones but because that gets the sun in the morning we’ve put a bench there so we can sit out and have a cup of tea."
"Someone down the road was having some work done on their house and there were loads of pallets outside so I asked if they needed them and they said they didn’t so we used their palettes.Talking about what she loves the most about her home, Imogen said: "My favourite rooms are probably the lounge and the kitchen because I like having people round and cooking for them, an I also really like being in the lounge to relax at the end of the day.