Bronwynn and Seb Wisdom, aged 35 and 36, relocated to the UK from South Africa and had considered a range of options to find the right home for themselves and their two cats. They knew they wanted to put down roots, but buying a property immediately wasn’t their priority and they were concerned by the restrictions and rules of renting with a traditional buy-to-let landlord. When they came across their home in Fontwell, near historic Arundel in West Sussex, they realised they could tick each and every box with professional rental homes provider Leaf Living.

The couple reserved a newly-built four-bedroom, three-bathroom family house at Leaf Living’s Fontwell Meadows development in November 2023, for a monthly payment of £1,700 and an initial deposit of £1,900, and were impressed by the value for money they were getting.

Seb says: “We weren’t looking for a small starter apartment, we needed the space that reflects where we are in our lives. We both really felt as soon as we saw the house that it was a place we could truly make our home. I initially looked into buying and even priced up a mortgage, and I worked out that we’d end up paying £700 more on monthly mortgage payments for a property of the same size. From a financial perspective for us at the moment, renting made far more sense.”

Leaf Living’s homes are built to an impressive specification. They benefit from spacious living areas, allocated parking and an EPC rating of B or above which keeps household bills low. Whilst the couple choose to put down a deposit residents can also choose Leaf Living’s no deposit option* available through their partnership with flatfair, that replaces traditional security deposits with a one-time fee equal to one week’s rent. All residents, across their developments, also benefit from Sky broadband and have access to a range of intelligent devices, including video doorbells and chime for enhanced security, Hive thermostats and keyless smart locks.

Bronwynn continues: “The house came with new white goods in the kitchen, which saved a considerable expense on upfront purchases and other added extras include fibre internet in our monthly rent.”

The couple also had to consider their cats, and were delighted to find Fontwell Meadows is a pet-friendly rental community. Bronwynn comments: “We probably enquired about 40 or 50 places, most wouldn’t allow pets or even consider it and any that did often charged more for smaller spaces because we had animals. With Leaf Living, we got a bigger place that allows our cats, and it’s been perfect. The private garden has been another highlight offering a safe outdoor space for our cats, they both love exploring.”

Fontwell Meadows, like all Leaf Living communities, comprises family homes in a suburban location with convenient access to green space, schools, transport links and local amenities. Seb, an applications engineer, has a ten-minute drive to work while Bronwynn, a social media executive, takes good advantage of excellent public transport; her bus journey is a short five minutes. Bronwynn comments: “It was a move closer to Seb’s workplace, and for me, the connections, it opened so many more opportunities when job searching, as I could commute to a lot of different places if I needed to. I ended up with a role based in Tangmere, so it is only a five-minute bus ride, an easy daily routine.”

Seb and Bronwynn found renting with a professional company like Leaf Living to be refreshingly easy. Seb remembers: “When I originally came to view a different house at Fontwell Meadows, it wasn’t quite the layout we wanted. Then our home became available, and the lettings team was super helpful in making sure we got the type of property that we wanted. When I couldn’t attend a viewing, they even filmed a walkthrough for us so Bronwynn, who was still in South Africa, could see it too.”

Bronwynn adds: “With Leaf Living, the process was so smooth. The paperwork was straightforward, and we didn’t have to wait weeks to get things agreed upon. Also if anything does happen, they’re super responsive and quick to sort things out. We don’t feel anxious about raising concerns because we know the team is there to help.”

Leaf Living also offers flexible tenancies to its residents, an important benefit which encourages people to stay for the long term if they want to do so. Bronwynn and Seb said: “We feel like we’re in a place now that really feels like home, we know we are going to be here for a long time. We originally signed a tenancy for one year, but we have already extended that.”

Leaf Living provides professionally managed rental homes all over the UK with more new communities launching soon in new locations. Find your next dream home: www.leafliving.com/findyourhome.