Newly retired couple, Mary and Alistair Berrill, planned a move this year to a more modern, warmer and more comfortable new home. They found house builder, Dandara’s Moving Made Easy scheme simplified the process of moving.
After owning a home for 24 years, where they brought up their family, Mary and Alistair, both 64, wanted a change of scenery. They were looking for somewhere where they could enjoy an active retirement, walking, cycling and eating out, as well as enjoying playing tennis. They chose a home in Dunblane.
They had previously enjoyed buying a brand new home and were definitely looking to do so again.
Picture Phil Wilkinson
Mary, a former schools inspector and assistant director in the civil service, said: “We wanted a new build to minimise the effort – at the age of 64 we couldn’t stand the thought of having to put in a new kitchen or bathroom.
“There weren’t really any suitable new build options available around Stirling or Bridge of Allan, but we already knew Dunblane as we often play tennis there, and we knew it would suit our lifestyle.
“We’re at the point in our lives where we are just into retirement, and we wanted to move to make the most of being in an environment where we could walk, use our bikes and enjoy good restaurants. We like Stirling, so we didn’t want to move too far away, and we were very keen to get a high-quality house as we didn’t want to lose any of the benefits we enjoyed in our previous house.”
Wallace View, on the outskirts of Dunblane, just six miles from Stirling, was exactly what they were looking for.
She said: “We thought finding somewhere would be tricky, but we were delighted a friend told us about the Dandara houses at Wallace View, because it’s almost a semi-rural setting – in Dunblane, but very much on the edge of it. So, there’s good cycling and we play tennis here, so it just suited our lifestyle.”
The couple, who have been together since their university days, chose The Rum four-bedroom home, which was similar in size to their previous property, but with a spacious, open-plan ground floor with a 7.9m long lounge/dining room/family room opening to the rear garden. Mary said: “I like the openness and the light of the home, and it has plenty of space which we value the most.”
With just one of this house type remaining, there was no time to lose, so Mary and Alistair, a retired physicist, put a deposit down and used the Moving Made Easy scheme to make sure that everything went quickly and smoothly. “We were very impressed with how the scheme worked; the move was extremely slickly done and I really admired their efficiency. Lyndsay from NEST Estate Agents was so efficient and really supportive and reassuring.”
With the scheme, Dandara does all the hard work in terms of finding estate agents and paying for the service, and within days the home had been photographed and was on the market. The couple went off to a coffee shop while the agent showed people around, and 20 minutes after the first viewer had come through the door the property was sold – for slightly above the original asking price. They funded their new home partly with the proceeds.
After moving into their new home in March, they already appreciate how warm and comfortable it is, with solar panels supplementing the high-efficiency gas boiler.
Mary explained: “We like the fact the solar panels are providing energy into the house.
“Although our previous home met all the regulations when it was first built, when we reduced the heating over the past couple of years because of the energy crisis, that house was actually quite cold. This one is lovely and cosy. It has incredible insulation and stays warm even without the heating on. I was brought up in a barn of a house in Braid Road, Edinburgh, and I’ve never forgotten waking up with ice on the inside of the windows. Now if I’m chilly I’ll put the heating on in July – I wasn’t born to be cold!”
Now comfortably settled, getting to know the neighbours and enjoying entertaining friends in their spacious new home, retirement is looking bright. Mary said: “I’m grateful to Dandara because they helped make my dream come true.”
The Final property at Wallace View has now been reserved, but Dandara East Scotland also has three developments in Edinburgh and East Lothian. This includes Eskbank Gardens, Dalkeith, where four and five bedroom homes are priced from £409,995. Foxhall Gait, Kirkliston, has two to five bedroom homes from £192,000 to £456,995, and The Pines, Wallyford offers two to five bedroom homes from £249,995 to £449,995.
