Derbyshire couple find dream home by chance after year-long search

Carla, 40, and Tim, 63, were keen to find a place with more space, fitted wardrobes and better storage, and put their two-bedroom bungalow in Borrowash on the market.

The couple were keen to stay in the area as they both work as cabin crew – Carla out of Birmingham Airport and Tim out of East Midlands.

During the process, they decided to change estate agents. It was after Tim went to retrieve his keys from the agent’s office that he took a different route home and drove past the development.

That was when he spotted the new Bellway development just a 10-minute drive from where they lived.

Carla said: “Tim told me, ‘You need to come and look at this’.”

The couple took a drive around the development early one morning before it opened. They found sales advisor Alan Taylor was already in the sales office an hour early and was happy to help.

Carla said: “Alan suggested the four-bedroom detached Philosopher and told us that there was a showhome for that house style at Bellway’s development in Melton. We drove straight there that day.”

Once inside the four-bedroom detached property, the decision was made. “We knew that was the right house straight away,” said Carla.

“The size and shape of the bedrooms meant we could have fitted wardrobes plus there was loads of storage in the kitchen.”

Although at the start of their house search, they had been unsure about buying a new-build property, they were soon able to see the advantages.

“Neither of us are DIYers,” said Carla “And with an old house you’ve always got things to do, there are always jobs on the list, whereas with a new house it’s all done. Other than putting pictures on the walls there’s nothing to do here.”

And buying their new place early in the build process meant they had the opportunity to choose and upgrade their fixtures and fittings so that everything was just the way they wanted it.

“I definitely wanted to choose everything myself and it was really exciting, I loved it,” said Carla.

They used Bellway’s part exchange scheme for their house purchase. Under the initiative, the customer’s existing property is independently valued and they can stay in their old property until their new home is ready.

“It was brilliant,” said Carla. “Originally, I was against the idea because I thought we would lose too much money, but I thought let’s see what they have to say. And it was a reasonable offer they gave.

“Plus, it took away the need to move into rented while we waited for our new home which would have been a hassle and an added cost, there were no estate agent fees and Bellway let us keep the keys to the bungalow for a week after we completed so we had plenty of time to move our things in.”

They moved into their new home with their cat Nala in July, and they love the ease of having plenty of storage space to put everything away, making it effortless to keep things tidy. There is also plenty of room for day-to-day living and for having family and friends over.

Carla and Tim also appreciate the side-by-side double driveway, which is essential for them as either of them could need to leave the house in the early hours to go to work on an early flight and having to move the other car out of the way first is not ideal.

They were impressed with the design and layout of the development. Carla said: “It looks so different to every other new build site because of the stone and the brickwork they use, it looks like something out of the Cotswolds.

“And there’s loads of green open space here and Chellaston has everything you need. There’s a post office, a shop, a takeaway if you want it, and there are supermarkets five minutes away.”

Being less than a 10-minute drive to the M1, the location is convenient for them both to get to work.

Carla said: “Everybody we’ve dealt with during our purchase has been brilliant. The team in the sales office were always there if we had any questions or problems. We dealt with several advisors, and they were all as good as each other.

“Then when we moved in, the site team were great too. I was expecting a few snags, and I wasn’t sure how that would go, but anything we found, they were here instantly to put it right. I was really impressed.”

Bellway currently has three and four-bedroom homes for sale at Holbrook Park in Chellaston, with prices starting from £289,950.

For more information about the development call 01332 983903 or visit https://www.bellway.co.uk/new-homes/east-midlands/holbrook-park.