Helen and David Brown went from first viewing to handover in just 7 weeks. They sold their existing property in Wiltshire and bought a brand-new home using part exchange.
Part Exchange
David explains: “We weren’t actively looking to move, but we had always wanted something a little more rural and quieter. I downloaded the Rightmove app to help my son look for a house. I was casually flicking through the homes for sale when I saw Newland Homes’ Honey Glade. I’d always thought that Chapmanslade was a nice little village.”
Helen continues: “We took a drive to Chapmanslade. It was a spur of the moment thing as we didn’t have an appointment to view. Thankfully someone was able to show us around when we arrived.”
Fast moving
From this point forward, things moved fast for the couple.
“I was mentally moving furniture into the house as soon as I walked through the front door. I really loved it, and I didn’t want to lose it to someone else” says Helen.
As their property wasn’t on the market, part exchange from Newland Homes became a possibility. They offer different schemes to help buyers whatever their situation. This includes part exchange in conjunction with one of its partner agencies.
Three valuations
“By the end of that week we’d had three valuations on our house and accepted an offer. The following week a surveyor was sent out to survey our home. Going from first viewing to key handover took just seven weeks thanks to part exchange!”
Helen continues: “I can’t stress how much I really loved the house at Honey Glade. It was the home we wanted in the location we wanted. We didn’t want to go through the fuss of selling our house. It took us eight months to complete our last house purchase and we didn’t want to do that again.”
“Part exchange was a ‘no brainer’ for us, as it was the stress-free option” says David. “We appreciated we may have been able to achieve a higher value for our home if we’d sold it privately. Even then, you’re unlikely to get full asking price and we’d have to pay agent fees. Plus sorting out the house to make it more presentable and do viewings didn’t appeal. Chains can fall through. We were happy to accept a lower offer as we see it as the price you pay for convenience.”
“It was an easy price to pay to get the house we loved” explains Helen. Indeed, Helen’s colleagues were shocked by how quickly the whole process was!
Zero carbon homes
The couple try to be environmentally friendly, and it was the eco credentials at Honey Glade which clinched it for them. The zero carbon homes include technology such as solar panels and air source heat pumps. There’s even the inclusion of hedgehog highways and a large open space area.
“There’s a lot of new technology in the house, but it’s really easy to get to grips with. It actually requires less interaction from us than a normal gas boiler. With gas, you must turn it on, turn it off, monitor it etc. Whereas the heating in this house runs itself and you can leave it to do its thing” explains Helen.
Maximising solar energy
“I have an app which shows how much energy the solar panels are generating. It also shows how much is going back into the grid” says David. “I work from home most of the time and we try to run things like the dishwasher and washing machine in the daytime. This uses power from the solar panels. We haven’t bought a battery to store electricity as yet. Like everything, Newland has thought of this and there’s a place for us to put it if we want to. We’re going to live here for a year and then see how we’re using the power. This will show us if it’s worth investing in a battery.”
The power demands have the potential to be quite weighty as the couple have turned their third bedroom into a ‘games room’, with an extensive collection of video games and consoles spanning four decades. “We didn’t realise how much we had in the old house as we didn’t have the space to have it all out on display. We have Spectrums, Commodores and Nintendos, you name it, all there and out to be enjoyed” says Helen.
“You sometimes hear horror stories about cowboy builders, but we cannot fault Newland Homes” continues Helen. “All the interactions with staff have been excellent and any issues have been sorted quickly. Colin, the Deputy Site Manager, deserves a staff recognition award as he’s been amazing. Any problems and he’s come knocking on our door to get it sorted.”.
Newland Homes Limited is a property developer registered in England and Wales number 2582221.
Registered office: Brighouse Court, Barnett Way, Barnwood, Gloucester, GL4 3RT.
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