Thursday 23rd december 2021

First time buyers who step on the ladder get more by reserving early in Inverkeithing

New mum Michelle Higgins and her husband Andy, who rented together locally following many house moves together with their previous jobs, dreamt of becoming homeowners. They reserved off-plan and have been rewarded with their first family home - an impressive four bedroom detached Lewis at Taylor Wimpey’s Spencer Fields in Inverkeithing, which they have been looking forward to owning for such a long time.

The perfect family home

It's been quite a journey for the couple and their baby daughter as Michelle explains: “We feel that we’ve waited our whole working life for this. Nowhere really felt like home as we moved around so much, and we would often talk about the things we do or buy for our own home when we bought it. Now we’re here, it’s just perfect.

“We were looking for a semi-rural lifestyle that also had great transport links and Spencer Fields is ideal on both those fronts. Having so many transport options so close by is really convenient for our lifestyle. We can choose to get around by bus, car or being within walking distance of Inverkeithing train station, makes the train so handy too."

Michelle is a schoolteacher so naturally this means that education is high on the agenda for this young family, as she adds: “My daughter was just a few months old when we reserved off-plan and while we don’t need a local school for a few years yet, it was really important to us that the local primary and secondary schools are on our doorstep. Having moved around for years, we’ve no plans to move for some time!”

The couple have bought, and recently moved into, a new Lewis four bedroom detached home and they found the whole process very easy as Andy explains: “Although we’ve rented together for years, and moved around with our previous jobs, this is our first property purchase together and our first step onto the property ladder, so you want to get it right."

“We’ve found the whole process really straightforward so that’s given us more time to enjoy the process and get excited about it. Everyone has been so helpful from day one, our sales executive Isla and our site manager Barry simply went above and beyond to make sure that everything ran smoothly for us, on-time – in fact ahead of time and we can’t thank them enough."

“Also buying a new-build home meant that we knew exactly what we were getting and there would be no hidden surprises. We did think about buying a second-hand home but when we looked at our life and being new parents, we realised that we liked that a new home comes with a 10-year guarantee, everything is new and there’s no hassle or maintenance work for us to do."

Personalise your home

When move-in day finally came the couple were absolutely delighted with their new home, as Michelle adds: “Buying off-plan is great because you have more opportunity to express your style, so we loved that we could personalise our kitchen to create a rustic countryside feel. There was so much more choice and range of options available than we thought that it meant when we moved in that we just felt at home instantly.

“We can’t quite believe how much more space we have in the kitchen/diner and lounge, how generous the hall is perfect for storing the buggy and how well-positioned the house is within the street, which in itself is really wide. We feel there is more space than we imagined both inside and out, and we absolutely love it. We still do!”

As more people move-in Spencer Fields is coming to life, and the couple have already met some of their other neighbours. “Everyone is lovely,” explains Andy, “our neighbours to the left feel like second parents, and we’re waiting to see who moves in on the right, but we can’t wait to meet them because everyone is so lovely.”

Kirsty McGill, Regional Sales and Marketing Director for Taylor Wimpey East Scotland, says: “I am delighted to learn that Michelle and Andy are enjoying the first few months of their family life at our development in Spencer Fields. With superb transport links and a wealth of local amenities, it’s proving to be a popular choice with a range of buyers and there’s a lovely sense of community growing there. Our new homes are light, bright, and built to a high quality - and each one comes with a 10-year NHBC warranty. From the moment you step through the door, your home will be a blank canvas for you to make your mark on, just like Michelle and Andy.”