Buying their first home together was a very special moment for Alex and Alicia. The couple had been living in a two-bedroom maisonette in Bexley, Kent, but 2023 was the moment they decided to find their family home for the future.
Alicia explains: “Alex had started working from home and there just wasn't enough space in our two-bedroom maisonette because I was working from home as well.”
Alex continues: “We're at an age now where we're considering starting a family. I work in the city, so we needed somewhere that had good links and also good schools. We landed on Chelmsford and once we viewed the properties at Beaulieu, we instantly fell in love with it here.”
As well as being home to a number of different amenities including cafés, shops, a vets and Beaulieu Park School (rated Outstanding by Ofsted), Beaulieu also benefits from excellent transport links. A new train station, due to open at the end of 2025, will provide direct connections into London in under an hour, while the recently opened bypass has improved connections to the A12 and the A130/M11.
Alex adds: “We actually bought at Beaulieu on the basis on the train station coming. That will be a game changer. It will knock off roughly 20 minutes from my commute, avoiding a ride on the bus into the city from here and replace it with a 15-minute walk through the countryside.
“I must admit I was worried that we would be living on a building site, but I've been incredibly pleasantly surprised. You feel like you're in the countryside.”
Homes at Beaulieu are well known for their high specification kitchens, complete with integrated appliances as standard, while flooring is fitted throughout and from their first moments on the development, Alex and Alicia recognised how beautiful and well built the properties were.
So what are the favourite things about their new home? Alex says: “For me it’s the kitchen, which is deceptively large. Everything feels so nice, from the worktops to the taps and all the elements of design. I like the open plan living, with the French patio doors and tons of natural light comes in.”
It was a big step in their lives together to be able to buy a home like this, but the Countryside Homes sales team made all the difference to the process. There was a moment when it looked like the chain on the couple’s sale might have fallen through, but the team at Countryside were able to step in and help solve the problem.
Alex explains: “I’m a salesperson myself and the sales process was excellent. We sat down with the team at Countryside Homes and they helped us understand what was involved in buying a new home and the finance side. They answered all our questions and helped us work out what the best house type was for us and what would give us the best value for money. They didn’t try and push us into buying something bigger that we didn’t need with just the two of us.”
With the decision made to go for the Laurel house style, Alex and Alicia were quickly able to make their way through the journey to owning their own home as smoothly as possible.
Alicia continues: “The fact we purchased a home together was so special. Seeing the nice bow on our front door and being able to open it with our own key felt like a dream. The bow was on the door for about two weeks. I wouldn’t let Alex take it down.”
