Downsizers “Thrilled To Pieces” With New Bungalow In Haddenham

After 46 happy years in their beautiful family home in Haddenham, Dr Malcolm McDonald and his wife Margaret knew it was time to make the difficult decision to downsize to a more manageable home not too far from the beautiful village and neighbourhood that had been their home for so long.

After three years of searching, however, the couple found their perfect new home at Dandara’s The Grove development.

Malcolm who is a Professor at six of the UK’s top University business schools explained: “We decided to downsize about three years ago, but we were half-hearted about leaving our lovely house with its brilliant outside heated swimming pool where we had experienced so many memories over the years, almost half a century!”

A year or so after making their decision, they came across Dandara’s The Grove, which was soon to be built in the village and which they felt could be exactly what they were looking for.

“We have a villa in Portugal and really like the layout and bungalow style living it has to offer, so it was great to see Dandara were building a number of bungalows at The Grove,” continued “Malcolm. I was intrigued, so very early on in the construction we met the site manager, Jack Waldron. He was extremely welcoming and invited us in for coffee and explained all about the development to us.

“Not long after that, as construction progressed, we were able to meet the sales team and view the bungalow show home, which sealed the deal for us. We very much liked what we were seeing, but as you can imagine, after 46 years living in the same house, we were not going to come to a quick decision, so were being a little indecisive! Karen, a member of the sales team, was fantastically patient with us, accommodating visits and questions, very professional and a credit to Dandara. She has become a friend!”

The McDonalds sold their much-loved home in Haddenham, which with its four bedrooms, large garden and swimming pool, had become too big for their needs and too much responsibility to look after. With their villa in Portugal, Malcolm and Margaret were also keen to relocate to a home that would allow them to spend their time away worry-free and their new home at The Grove ticked all the boxes.

Malcolm explained: “Our bungalow is detached which we both preferred and has a lovely but much more manageable garden where we can still enjoy BBQs. Everything is brand new, so all we had to do was move in, except we managed to end up moving house just as the lockdown began! Dandara was marvellous and Simon Pendlebury, the sales and marketing director, did everything he could to ensure that we had an incident free move.

“Dandara has completely changed my view of developers. All their people have been wonderful and attentive and most importantly really took account of how stressful moving house and downsizing was for us, after so long in one home. In fact, right from the start, all through our hesitancy before we decided what to buy and during the buying process, to moving at the height of lockdown ,the aftercare has been excellent and we love our brilliant new home, which we refer to as our Haddenham villa!”

The McDonalds are now homeowners of ‘The Lime’, a two-bedroom detached bungalow exclusively for the over 55s. The home features a delightful open-plan lounge, kitchen and dining area with French doors to the garden. The contemporary kitchen fitted with top-of-the-range appliances also boasts the convenience of a separate utility room. With two bedrooms and two bathrooms – one en suite and the other a ‘Jack and Jill’ style – the bungalows at The Grove offer the perfect solution to any house hunter looking to downsize to a more manageable and enjoyable way of life.

Pendlebury commented: “At Dandara we pride ourselves on our attention to detail and customer service and the teams work very hard to ensure a smooth moving process for all our buyers. Unfortunately, events and issues can arise from time to time that are out of our control, and the coronavirus pandemic has definitely made things a little challenging. However, the team at The Grove have gone above and beyond during recent months and it was fantastic to be able to welcome The McDonalds into their new home on time and as hassle free as possible. We hope they continue to enjoy their new home and being a part of the flourishing community at The Grove.”

There’s a mix of two-bedroom bungalows to four-bedroom properties at The Grove with prices for a two-bedroom home starting at £335,000.

Find out more at www.dandara.com.

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