Student dentist smiles after winning waterside apartment in Leeds free for a year
A 26 year-old dentistry student from Carlisle has won a dream home in Leeds free for one year thanks to a once-in-a-lifetime giveaway by ISIS Waterside Regeneration.
Afruza Khatun, who is planning to move to Leeds from Carlisle upon graduating from her degree in dentistry in July, is the lucky winner of a stylish one-bedroom apartment on the 3rd floor overlooking the historic waterside of the Leeds Liverpool Canal at the award-winning Granary Wharf development. She will live rent and bill free for one year, saving up to £15,000, at the stunning cylindrical Candle House building.
Afruza, who has been studying for the last four years, had just been offered her first job as a dentist at a practise in Headingley and was looking for a place to live when she heard about the competition from her best friend, who was already living at Candle House.
“Two of my close friends have lived in Leeds for a few years now and I’ve always loved the city whenever I’d visited them so this was the first place I looked for a job and was so happy when I got offered one here. One of the girls moved into a two bedroom apartment at Candle House last year and when I stayed with her I just fell in love with the building. I’ve never owned a home and knew I wasn’t in a position to buy yet but did look at renting here. I didn’t think I’d be able to afford to live in the city centre and I was looking at other areas further out. I never thought I’d win, I still can’t believe it now.”
ISIS received more than 4,000 entries to the competition, which was launched in March in association leedsconfidential.com, to win a home at the desirable development. Candle House, with its elegant circular shape, makes a bold statement on the Leeds skyline offering attractive copper balconies and panoramic views of the canal side, the city skyline, the Yorkshire Dales and beyond. Featuring 160 apartments, it also has a communal rooftop terrace for residents – the highest of its kind in Leeds - as well as facilities for boaters so they can stop a while on their journey through Granary Wharf.
“I now get to live in my dream city, start my first dream job and live in a dream home in the same place as my best friend – it’s too good to be true. I plan to use this opportunity to save so that I can hopefully buy my own apartment here at Granary Wharf one day.”
Hollie Reynolds, senior sales and marketing manager at ISIS, said: “We know how difficult it can be for first-time buyers so it’s really great to offer someone like Afruza the chance live here free for a year and experience life as part of this friendly waterside community. We were overwhelmed by the reaction we had and to those who didn’t win – I’d still urge them to come and talk to us about some of the great initiatives we have available, such as our shared equity scheme ‘Loan2Own’ which are ideal for helping first-time buyers on to the market.”