A first time buyer journey with exceptional customer service
After years of renting, Charlee and her partner James fell in love with their new Persimmon home at Hartley Grange, Whittlesey on Valentine's Day 2023 - and it was a match made in heaven. She told us about finding their perfect home, and how the sales team made sure to provide them with the best service possible.
From renters to buyers
Charlee (25) and her partner James (28) have been together for 4 years. Prior to buying their own home they rented several properties, juggling lockdown and landlord-related issues in the meantime.
"When we met in 2019 James was living in a studio flat, and I was living with my parents," says Charlee. "We had only been together for 6 months or so before lockdown hit, and we decided to lockdown together. "
"I was working from home, and we were living every day in that 34 square foot studio flat. We would constantly fantasise about the day we owned our forever home together, and what that might look like - it's what got us through the pandemic."
"Once lockdown ended, we were still a little way off the deposit we needed but knew living where we were wasn’t sustainable. So, we rented our first house. Just under a year later, the landlord decided to sell up, so we had to find somewhere else to live. We then had to downsize to a flat and lived there for just under a year. We had several problems whilst living there, and it gave us the motivation we needed to save the rest of our deposit."
"We really loved the idea of having a house nobody else had lived in. A blank canvas to make our own."
Love at first viewing
Charlee says: "We had spent so long renting other people’s homes, that we really loved the idea of having a house nobody else had lived in. A blank canvas to make our own."
With this in mind, the couple came across our Hartley Grange development in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire.
"We found this house online on Valentines Day, decided to arrange a viewing for that weekend, and the rest is history really! We fell in love with the area - after living in the city centre, moving somewhere more rural was exactly what we needed. And after viewing the show home, we just couldn’t let the opportunity pass. We reserved that same day."
"We were really pleased with the support we received from the sales team at Persimmon even before reservation, and it made us want to stick with them throughout the process."
"After viewing the show home, we just couldn’t let the opportunity pass. We reserved that same day."
Support from start to finish
"I’m registered blind, and so it was important to us that we not only found an area and a house I felt safe in, but also that I felt included in the whole process."
"I can’t read small print or visualise floor plans, and so we really wanted to make sure the developer we chose was understanding of this, and patient throughout the process of explaining things in a way I could understand. Buying a house is a huge thing, and being my first I didn’t want to miss a thing."
Charlee and James' sales advisor Abbie was on hand to help in any way possible.
"Abbie was amazing from start to finish. My colleague visited the marketing suite the day before James and I had our appointment, and Abbie explained the logistics of getting there safely."
"When James and I saw her, she was so thorough, and explained everything in vivid detail. She made sure we had a site visit so I could physically walk the route to the new house before we even decided to reserve. She gave us so much time and patience whilst choosing our options, and made sure we were given the extras we asked for (turf and flooring) so that was one less thing for us to worry about."
"Our sales advisor Abbie gave us so much time and patience whilst choosing our options, and made sure we were given the extras we asked for."
"Abbie was always available if we had any questions, and even let us come in to use the printer/scanner to get the documents we needed over to our mortgage adviser on time because we didn’t have one at home. "
"She was on hand during our home demo to answer any questions we had, and she continued to be there after we moved for any niggling concerns we still had."
"Our mortgage advisors worked seamlessly with Abbie and our solicitors to ensure the process went as smoothly as possible. From the point of reservation to the day we collected our keys was just under 8 weeks."
"When we reserved the house, we asked when it would be ready and were told March - we laughed and said 'March 2024?' We couldn’t believe it when we were told it would be 2023! We still can’t believe we own a three-bedroom house after such a struggle to get here. Hard work and determination pay off!"
Charlee's favourite things about her home:
- Living somewhere I feel comfortable and safe
- The fact that it's a blank canvas, and we get to figure out our style
- Having a dishwasher (I am no longer the dishwasher!)
- Having our own garden
- Finally getting to settle down in one place
- Seeing everything we talked about in lockdown becoming a reality!
