Category: News

Date posted: November 7, 2019

Author: Marketing

A day in the life | Ellie and Charlie Thumbnail

A day in the life | Ellie and Charlie

Rolling over, I check my phone for the third time… its only 5am and still dark outside. Zzzz… from the other side of the bed, I hear the comforting sound of Charlie’s deep breathing, he’s fast asleep. Turning again to lie on my back, my thoughts turn to the fact that we’re due to complete today… with that I snuggle down to enjoy the rest of my lie in.

Ring, ring, ring… I’m startled by the sound of Charlie’s phone, ringing from the kitchen where he’s busy making me a cup of tea. Slightly groggy from my disturbed sleep, it takes me a while to realise the call must be from Julie at Barkham Place.

The seconds tick by and with each, the feeling of excitement builds. This could be it. This could be the phone call to say we have our first home. Before long, the call is ended. Charlie appears from around the door, he doesn’t have to say anything, I can tell simply from his expression – we’ve completed and are free to collect our keys. Like excited children, we jump up and down on the bed, laughing and smiling so much my cheeks begin to hurt.

With the initial excitement fading, my mind begins to race at a million miles an hour – we’ve got to finish packing! Despite living in a sea of bubble wrap and cardboard boxes for the past two weeks, both Charlie and I have been reluctant to fully pack all our belongings. I know all too well how lucky we’ve been.

Boom… the speaker is on and blasting our favourite feel good playlist. Busting some of our infamous dance moves, we glide around the house, swiping any possessions off the counter-tops and into boxes.

Buzz, buzz… that must be our removal company, signalling it’s time for us to leave so boxes can be loaded and surfaces cleaned.

Charlie and I jump in the car, whizzing down the country lanes towards our brand new home. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to saying that – our home.

As we arrive at the marketing suite, the sun is low in the sky and the air crisp. I spot Julie at the window, grinning ear to ear, I can tell she couldn’t be happier for us. This is it: the moment we get our keys. Amongst all the excitement, Julie hands us a beautiful Jo Malone candle; what a thoughtful house warming present!

Waiting on the arrival of our removal van, Charlie and I decide to go for a stroll around Waterman’s Lake and Hazebrouck Meadow. It’s crazy to think that this will soon become part of our daily routine. Enclosed by towering trees, the wildlife here is totally undisturbed. I spy our home, beautifully positioned through the trees. Suddenly jolted back to reality, I hear the roaring sound of the removal van bumbling down the road.

Turning the keys in the latch, I breathe a sigh of relief. It all seemed too smooth, too easy to actually be true. I take the first step into our home, my feet instantly sink into the plush carpets and I’m greeted by the distinct new home smell. Everything looks so clean and fresh!

It’s fair to say that it’s been a long and emotional day. Surrounded by boxes, having only unpacked the essentials, Charlie and I cook our first supper. I know it sounds silly, but after our home demo last week I’ve been really looking forward to testing out all our integrated Bosch appliances, everything’s so luxurious. I even bought a kettle and toaster to match our new colour scheme!

Mmmm… food cooked, we sit down to eat, using a cardboard box as a table. That’s when it dawns on me, this process everyone warns you of as being stressful, has taken us a little more than eight weeks and we’ve managed to get a home that we had previously only dreamt of. I’m so pleased we found out about the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme available here – we’d been saving for years and thought we’d have several more years ahead of us. With only a 5% deposit needed in the end, we could make our dreams a reality. I can’t wait to start organising our house warming party now!

Discover more about Barkham Place.