Housebuilder Bellway has seen a real variety of buyers upsizing to larger properties at developments across the West Midlands region.
A retired couple are over the moon after moving into a new four-bedroom home in Nuneaton, where they’ve joined a supportive growing community of neighbours.
After marrying in 2018, Lynn and Thomas Maguire began to look for their first home together, and after exploring new build developments between their old homes in Nottingham and Coventry, they came across Bellway’s Royal Park, off The Long Shoot in Nuneaton.
Lynn, 70, said: “We really liked the development and area, so we decided to look on Bellway’s website to find a home that suited us there. We found the Bentley house type online and it looked perfect for us. To our surprise it was even more spacious than we thought it would be.”
After deciding to reserve at Royal Park, Thomas – who was previously living in a two-bedroom home in Coventry – was first to sell his home, and moved into Lynn’s three-bedroom home in Nottingham while she waited for her place to sell.
Lynn said: “We wanted to upsize into a home in between Nottingham and Coventry, so it would be easier for my nieces and nephews and Thomas’ daughters to stay over. We thought new build would be a good route to take for this, as we were looking to settle down and wanted a high-quality home.
“Although we both still drive, we looked for a new home close to a bus service so that we would be able to use it in the future.”
Of their brand new, four-bedroom ‘Bentley’ home at the development, 73-year-old Thomas said: “We’re very happy with the extra space. The kitchen and dining room is a lovely area and we now have a study which I use to make jewellery. We’ve also spent a lot of money on plants for our garden as it’s one of our favourite areas.
“Our new location is just what we wanted. It has great road links leading to the M6 and Hinckley, and the area has a nice countryside feel. Twycross Zoo is also close to where we live now – it’s a great family attraction to visit.”
Lynn said: “Our neighbours are fabulous. Most of them are younger than us and we like to joke about our age differences. During lockdown they have been very thoughtful and have checked in regularly and have helped with groceries.
“The customer care from the staff was great. They deal with things very quickly and treat the experience as all a part of what you’re buying into. They are all very welcoming. With Bellway you’re not just a number, and it’s the little things that add up and have made us very happy with our decision to buy with them.”
Find out more about Royal Park from Bellway.
A family of five from Shrewsbury are enjoying the benefits of living in their first permanent home – which also has all the space they need.
When Kate and David Onions found out that plans had been approved for 228 new homes at Bellway’s Copthorne Keep development in their hometown of Shrewsbury, the couple quickly decided to make it their goal to find their first home there.
The couple, who have three children – ten-year-old Freddie, seven-year-old Dexter and five-year-old Pippa – used the government-backed Help to Buy scheme to buy a bigger home than they expected to be able to afford.
“We first saw the three-bedroom ‘Cherry’ house and we would have been happy with that, but when we realised we could afford the four-bedroom ‘Elton’, which is laid out across three storeys, we knew we’d found our perfect home.”
They moved there in March, the week the country went into lockdown, and so really appreciated the extra space they had straightaway.
Kate, 36, said: “We’re delighted to be on the property ladder, and we now have a room each and enough space for when the kids grow up. When we got the keys, we were ridiculously excited and were jumping around. Overall, it’s so nice to finally own a house as we’re able to pay off something which is ours and that we can pass on to our kids. We feel so much more secure having our own place now.”
The family had previously rented different homes in Copthorne, with their final rental place a three-bedroom home just two streets away.
Kate, who works as a conferencing service design specialist for BT, said: “I’d been saving for a house for a while using a saver scheme at work, which meant part of my salary would go towards my deposit for a new home each month. David was working hard to save and had some inheritance as well, so we started looking for a new build home which would be close to our children’s school.
“As soon as the Copthorne Keep sales centre opened, we headed straight down to check out what was available to us.”
The couple reserved their home off plan and were able to walk by every day on the school run watching it being built. Now they’ve moved in, they love the space they have.
Kate said: “Buying off-plan was a great decision for us as we got to pick out our tiles and fully personalise our home. [It] has a real townhouse feel and it all works very well for the family. I also like it being more elevated as it makes it feel spacious. The boys have bedrooms on the middle floor and Pippa has her own room by David and me on the top floor. The kids love that it’s a three-storey home, and they say to their school friends: ‘ours is the big house’!
“My favourite room is the master bedroom – lots of light is allowed in through the dual-aspect windows and it has a very calming design.
“I’ve been working from home in our new living/dining room hosting BT meetings. It’s turned out to be a really nice space for home working and we feel very lucky that we got to move just in time to spend lockdown in a fresh new home. It’s really cheered the family up and helped us to cope with it.
“Shrewsbury is a very pretty area to spend lockdown in, too. There are all the facilities you need within just a short reach of Copthorne Keep.”
Find out more about Copthorne Keep from Bellway.
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