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| New owners get first look at Stoke-on-Trent £1 homes | New owners get first look at Stoke-on-Trent £1 homes |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Owners of homes being sold for £1 in Stoke-on-Trent have been getting their first look inside the properties. | Owners of homes being sold for £1 in Stoke-on-Trent have been getting their first look inside the properties. |
| The city council put 33 homes up for sale in a bid to revamp the Portland Street and Bond Street areas. The houses had faced demolition. | |
| Successful applicants have been offered £30,000 loans to complete essential repairs, which must be carried out. | |
| New owners said they were pleased with the houses and said it was the only way they could afford to buy a house. | |
| Bus driver Lawrence Poxon, 50, only discovered on Thursday he was eligible for a house. | |
| He and his wife Teresa will find out on 26 October which one they will be allocated. | |
| "You haven't got to scrape and save and worry about the rent or worry if the landlord will sell the home," he said. | |
| "If it's going to fail, it will be down to the people who are here but really I think it's going to work." | |
| One of the first new owners, Rachel Roberts, 31, has now seen her home. | |
| She said she would spend the next few months completing renovations to the house on Rutland Street. | |
| "There are two decent sized bedrooms, I'm really pleased. | "There are two decent sized bedrooms, I'm really pleased. |
| "It's a really exciting project, getting involved in the community and upgrading the area," she said. | "It's a really exciting project, getting involved in the community and upgrading the area," she said. |
| Due for demolition | Due for demolition |
| The full handover for the properties is not expected to be completed until the spring. | |
| Anyone who works in the city, has lived there for three years and owns no other properties, was invited to apply. | Anyone who works in the city, has lived there for three years and owns no other properties, was invited to apply. |
| In return, they were asked to commit to living in the area for five years and to bring the homes up to modern standards. | |
| The city council's £3m scheme has been part-funded through a government grant to bring the properties back into use. | |
| Many of the houses now owned by the local authority were bought from private owners and were due to be demolished under the Pathfinder programme, which was scrapped in 2010. | Many of the houses now owned by the local authority were bought from private owners and were due to be demolished under the Pathfinder programme, which was scrapped in 2010. |
| The application process started in April. Most of the properties are two-bedroom houses, although some are three-bedroom. | The application process started in April. Most of the properties are two-bedroom houses, although some are three-bedroom. |
| A Stoke-on-Trent City Council spokesman confirmed 20 of the houses had now been signed over. | A Stoke-on-Trent City Council spokesman confirmed 20 of the houses had now been signed over. |
| More than 600 people originally expressed an interest in the properties. | More than 600 people originally expressed an interest in the properties. |