A 26-year-old bought her first home after the seller ignored other offers and gave a £10k discount - because she was a first time buyer.

Eleanor Boone had worked on cruise ships for a year and saved just shy of £30k.

Eleanor, now 27, secured a two-bedroom terrace in Penryn, Cornwall, earlier this year.

She was up against other potential buyers - who were from out of the area and wanted to turn it into a student let.

But the seller went with her because it was her first home. The seller even knocked off £10K.

Eleanor had been saving on food and accommodation while lecturing aboard expedition cruises.

The zoology graduate never thought she would own a home so young, admitting she was "shocked" when handed the keys to the £185k house after paying a £20k deposit."

Eleanor, from nearby Falmouth, Cornwall, said: "I got really lucky."

"The lady who sold it had other people come in who were from London and wanted to let it to students."

"But because I was a first-time buyer and local she gave me it for £10k less."

"All my friends were shocked and I was shocked myself."

Eleanor worked as a researcher for a charity investigating whales and dolphins after graduating from the University of Exeter in 2021.

But it was in 2024, when she decided to go self-employed and offer her marine biology lecturing services to ships, that buying a home started to seem within her reach.

Despite having to work 12-hour shifts for more than 40 consecutive days with adventure travel firms like Aurora Expeditions and HX Expeditions, free food and accommodation on board meant her savings received a healthy boost totalling £29.5k

And Eleanor lived a "normal" life during her month-long breaks at home - even managing trips abroad to Barcelona and Cape Town, the latter costing over £4k."

She added: "I still did fun things that year when I was at home."

"I went and saw my friend in Barcelona because she lives there."

"I went to small local festivals."

"I also went to Cape Town which ended up being really expensive."

"I wasn't worrying about my bank account."

Eleanor, who had wanted to buy a home for three years before the big purchase, had "settled on just getting a one-bed or an apartment"."

But she jumped at the chance when she saw the listed home on the market.

She continued: "I'd lowered my expectations and said a one bed property would be fine."

"I paint a bit, though, so I wanted a second bedroom to have as an art studio."

"Because it's grade-two listed, a lot of people wanted to buy (the property) and rent it but because there were so many restrictions on doing it up, they ran away."

Although she had built up credit by paying off Amex credit cards immediately and meeting monthly payments on her phone and iPad, Eleanor was unsure if lenders would see her as a risk because she worked at sea.

But the mortgage adviser Tembo Money helped her get it over the line quickly.

"It went from me not knowing whether my mortgage was going to be approved to buying the house within a month", she said."

Her parents also received a pleasant surprise, as she kept the news from them until she had the keys.

In love with her new home, she plans to keep it even if she needs to upgrade later in life.

"It's definitely too small to have a family in, but I want to keep it", she said."

"I love it and I've made it my own. If I stayed in this property I'd be really happy."

Eleanor's top tips for young first-time buyers include "knuckling down" with a job that provides food and accommodation to save for a deposit."

She also advises watching YouTube videos and taking into account other costs like legal fees and surveys which may increase the overall cost of buying a home.