Laura and Gordon Wood had no intention of moving. Not yet anyway. Laura was seven months pregnant and busy looking after her three year old son. The family were living in a village near Banbury and it was fine, except for the fact that Gordon had an hour’s commute to Henley and back every day.
One day last June, on his journey home, he noticed the Linden Homes signs advertising the new Cholsey Meadows development in the Oxfordshire village of Cholsey. The couple remember that it was a Monday evening.
That night, Gordon suggested they look at the Linden Homes website to see what Cholsey Meadows was all about. Intrigued the couple filled in an enquiry form online.
On Tuesday morning they received a call from Linden Homes and the sales executive invited them to come and see the development for themselves.
By Tuesday afternoon they were at Cholsey Meadows looking around. Laura says the development was in its very early stages:
“We arrived at Cholsey Meadows and saw what was really just a block of bricks – no roof or anything. It was going to be a detached home – which is what we wanted. It didn’t take long before we were discussing how we could sell our existing home. We didn’t have it on the market because we hadn’t been planning to move! We discussed Linden Homes’ Part Exchange scheme and decided this might work well for us.”
The Part Exchange scheme* is designed to help get you moving quickly, easily and to remove the threat of a breaking chain, taking away some of the stress of moving house. Linden Homes arranges for three valuations and, within 7 days, will make you an offer for your home based on those valuations. They’ll also pay the estate agent’s fees.
By Thursday three estate agents had visited the Wood’s former home to value it.
On Saturday Linden Homes made them an offer based on these valuations and on Sunday the Woods decided to accept. Less than a week after they’d fallen for their roofless “block of bricks” at Cholsey Meadows it was all settled: It was going to be theirs. Laura says that seeing the building in the creation process was fascinating:
“We saw the house – or the beginning of it - when our daughter Cecily was just a bump. In fact, while my husband was able to go and look inside the house as it was being built, I wasn’t able to because I was pregnant and it would have breached the health and safety regulations.
“But over the last few months, we’ve seen our home really come together: Linden Homes was amazing – Zoe, Sue and Claire the sales executives would send us photos of our new homes progress. In the latter stages we were able to choose the carpets and the tiles and really make it our home. We love it: The house is right on the little track that leads down to the River Thames and we look out onto the cricket pitch.
“We moved in the week before Christmas and Linden Homes has been really good: With any new home there are bound to be small snags as the building settles and the few we’ve had have been dealt with really well. Somebody’s always there to sort it out. The other day we had a very tiny leak. I called the office and received a text at 8am asking if it was too early to come now. The Linden Homes’ staff have done everything they can to help us out and make us feel at home."
“Our son Bertie knows all the builders and has his own Linden Homes’ hard hat. As for our baby daughter, this is where she’ll always know; after all, she’s grown up with this house. We feel really part of it all here and it’s lovely because we arrived at the beginning of what we think is a rather special development.”
Gordon, who spotted Cholsey Meadows on his one hour commute last summer, now has a 20 minute journey to work. He’s home by 5.15pm. Laura says that because work is so much closer, she is now able to join him when he meets up with colleagues and friends:
“Everything about our move here has a sense of new life starting. We had no plans to move, in fact after some our last house moving experience, I had come to hate the process with a passion – but in this case Linden Homes took away all that pressure. We’ve only been here a month but it feels like so much longer. It already is, after just a few weeks, our home.”
To see Linden Homes’ beautiful Cholsey Meadows development for yourself, visit the sales and marketing suite which is open every day from 10am until 5pm. For more information on Cholsey Meadows or Linden Homes’ Part Exchange scheme, please call 01491 652217
*conditions apply
-ENDS-
For further information, contact Naomi Wellman or Tracy Mannion at Remarkable Public Relations on 01962 893 893
References to “we”, “us” or “our” are to the part of the Vistry Group (including Linden Homes, Bovis Homes, Countryside Homes, Drew Smith, Vistry Ventures or one of Vistry’s joint venture companies) from which you are intending to purchase a new home. References to "you” and “your” are to the prospective buyer or buyers of a new home from us.
All images are used for illustrative purposes only and are representative only. They may not be the same as the actual home you purchase and the specification may differ. Images may be of a slightly different model of home and may include optional upgrades and extras which involve additional cost. Individual features such as windows, brick, carpets, paint and other material colours may vary and also the specification of fittings may vary. Any furnishings and furniture are not included in any sale. Please check with our sales consultants for details of the exact specifications available at the development(s) for each type of home and the associated prices.
