Welcome back to What I Own – Metro’s property series where we speak to homeowners about getting on the ladder. As the UK entered lockdown, Patrick McAleenan was able to put some extra money aside towards a deposit. It meant that after 25 years renting in London, he became a first-time buyer, aged 48, swapping the capital for a three-bedroom flat in St-Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex. Since moving in 2021, he’s been able to connect with a creative community by the seaside, and is relishing in the freedom that homeownership has given him.

Here’s what Patrick had to say about his property journey…. My name is Patrick and I’m now 52-years-old. Professionally I’m a few things: I own a creative communications agency which offers brand, events and PR consultancy to premium brands, mainly in the alcohol industry. I’m also a freelance journalist and currently writing my first work of fiction. I’m a keen art collector, love exercise (I was a personal trainer for a while) and hiking.

I’ve also recently taken my first pottery classes, so I’m excited to see where that goes next. I live alone in a three-bedroom duplex apartment by the sea. I live in St Leonards-on-Sea on the East Sussex coast. The area is a creative hub for artists, musicians and creatives, as well as a gastronomic and cultural hotspot with a real sense of community. The area is still growing and there’s always something new happening. Much of the town is architecturally beautiful as it was built by the acclaimed British property developer James Burton, from 1827.

He also built most of Bloomsbury in London, as well as other architecturally significant areas in the city, including most of Regent Street. I personally live in an 1850s maisonette (not built by Burton but in a similar style), which the previous owner (also a property developer) had completely renovated, keeping all the original features. It’s a five-minute walk from the sea which is blissful. January 2021. I knew this was going to be my home as soon as I walked into it, after first viewing it six months before. It had most of the features I wanted and I could instantly see myself living here.

I bought it for £325,000. It was on the market for £310,000 but everything was going for over the asking at that time, so I knew I had to go a little higher. I had a deposit of £70,000 which was my own savings and a £10,000 gift from a very generous friend who wanted to see me get on the property ladder. More than it did two years ago. I renewed my fixed-rate mortgage in November 2023 and bills like utilities have gone up quite a bit. My service charges have remained steady thankfully.

In total, I’m paying £2,400 a month on my mortgage and bills – £1,800 of that is my mortgage payment. The pandemic. I travel a lot for work and pleasure so I got to stay home and just stopped spending money, aside from the essentials. I had £30,000 already saved and quickly saved the rest during that time at home. Quite seamless thanks to my mortgage broker. As a freelancer who had just set up a limited company, I thought it would be more difficult than it was. She was creative and very supportive. I was limited on lenders so she focused on the one who was most likely.

I’m with Barclays and on a two-year fixed rate of 5.92% until November 2025. It went up significantly (by £600 per month) after the first two-year fixed term. I rented for 25 years in London and lived in 10 different places. I lived with a close friend in her home in North London for my final eight years in the city. I wanted my own home, to settle in one place that was mine. I was also approaching 50 and very aware I had a window to make that happen.

I knew I wanted to leave London and live by the sea, but still have easy access to the city for work and to see friends. I also wanted an architecturally interesting and beautiful place to live. I kept reading about St Leonards so took the train on a very wintry day and loved it. I thought if I like it in winter, I’ll love it even more in the summer. I saw a lot of properties in the year it took me to finally buy one, as it was very competitive (mainly with other Londoners). I bid on and lost two before finally buying where I live now.

I’ve always loved interiors and obsessively read interiors magazines. I’ve also been told I have a good eye. My apartment had been completely renovated so everything was new, down to all the appliances. I arrived with two pieces of bedroom furniture, two chairs, books, magazines and a few pieces of art, so I was almost starting from scratch. I had managed to save a nice budget for the interior. I wanted to buy quality pieces of contemporary and vintage furniture that I knew I’d have for a long time, so I focused on buying UK and Italy-made, with a focus on different types of wood, textures and patterns. I have a beautiful hand-made rug from Beni Rugs in Morocco. I wanted lots of colour, and art on the walls and shelves.