Are you looking to buy your first home but not sure about what to look for or where to start? We decided to speak to some purchasers of one of our recent developments; James and Rebecca who bought at Egleton House to see how they found there experience.
Q: So Rebecca and James, tell us a bit about yourselves…..
A: James and I are two 25 year olds, both hailing from the midlands but meeting and setting up home in London towards the end of 2012. James works in the City in sales to finance executives and I work as an account manager in IT consultancy in Holborn. We both enjoy an active lifestyle away from our desk jobs – I visit the gym most days of the week and James is a keen cyclist (having recently completed a London to Paris ride). We first moved in together in 2013 when we rented a one bedroom apartment in Chelsea and, as our life and careers grew here, we decided that 2015 would be the year that we’d lay down some more permanent foundations and buy our first property.
Q: Why did you decide to purchase in London?
A: We knew that buying in Chelsea, where we were renting, was not a realistic option and so any property we found had to be near enough perfect to reconcile for the location change. The most important elements of any flat for us are the kitchen and bathroom where we look for modern, sleek & clean designs. James found Egleton House Apartments online and as soon as we looked at the pictures we couldn’t wait to take a real look around at the one bedroom properties available. We both come from homes that have big gardens and areas that have fields, parks etc. so moving to London had been a bit of a shock for both of us, because of that we were keen to have some outdoor space – no matter how small! The flat we now live in is on the second floor and has a small balcony overlooking the shared, well-kept garden and is perfect for our needs.
Q: Why did you choose to purchase at Egleton House and what was it that attracted you to the location?
A: Location is one of the most important aspects of a property for James and I and we would only consider apartments that had easy access to Central London as well as a surrounding area with shopping facilities and outdoor space. Egleton House was therefore ideally situated as it sits just opposite Putney Heath, a ten minute walk from Richmond Park, a five minute bus ride from Putney and from there a 20 minute train into Waterloo. Our love for all things modern is catered for by the stylish fitted kitchen and neat, simplistic bathroom. The shared garden made the property even more desirable and the opportunity to put our own stamp on the apartment is feasible due to the neutral tones running throughout. We were also really impressed with the planning & thought that has gone into the building. For example the lift, the bin store accessed with your key fob, a bike store also accessed with the key fob, the communal garden, smoke vents, building area specific access and vast amount of storage space (that is so desperately needed with a one bedroom place in London!).
Q: What made you purchase here over other developments?
A: There are some places that you walk into and can immediately see yourself in and Egleton House was this one for us. I think that the ease with which our appointment was booked and all of the information made available when we were showed around by Devorah made us feel that this was somewhere we could be very happy. Aside from the location and the garden what is also great about this development is that, for the most part, the people purchasing the property will be those living in the property as opposed to investors meaning that we should have a good community feel. Going hand in hand with this is that this isn’t a development that is piling people in on top of each other and building stacks and stacks of flats, it’s somewhere that you will get to know the other homeowners, feel safe and take pride in.
Q: What did you like about the specification of the apartment?
A: There were so many things that we were prepared to purchase for an apartment in order to make it suit us and function in the way that we need however upon visiting Egleton House it became clear that all of these things were already inside the property. From the brilliant Neff oven and hob to the air ventilation system and video phone entry everything is catered for. The kitchen is excellent quality as well as the bathroom with all details of styling carefully thought through, for example the modern door handles and neutral carpet and flooring.
Q: Please explain how you found your buying journey…..
A: This is the first property we’ve ever purchased and because of that we entered the process with trepidation. Everything was made very clear to us and all details of next steps and what to do when were provided. As with all property purchases it wasn’t a totally stress free process as we waited nervously to get our completion date. We were lucky enough to have everyone working extremely hard to have everything ready so as we could move in as soon as the lease on our rental apartment was up. As soon as we moved into Egleton House we were presented with a bound folder listing every possible instruction we could need along with the guarantees of all the kitchen appliances. We were also asked to look over the property and make a note of anything that needed checking over – I’m glad to say that as soon as we passed on any details a date was set for someone to visit the property (within two weeks of us moving in).