Church View ticks all the boxes in Basildon

Neil and Angie Hipkins were very clear about their priorities when they started to look for a new home. They were living in their own two-bedroom apartment in Beckton, East London and wanted to find a larger home close to the countryside but still convenient for commuting to their work in central London.

They found the answer at Church View, Barratt Eastern Counties’ popular development in Laindon, near Basildon, where they have bought a spacious three-bedroom townhouse.

Neil, 37, and Angie, 35, hadn’t considered buying a new-build home, but when they spotted a hoarding advertising Church View they decided to take a look. Angie comments: “We loved the development straight away and thought it had a very warm neighbourly atmosphere. The townhouse was just perfect for us, so it wasn’t hard making the decision to buy.”

Although they weren’t first time buyers, Neil and Angie were delighted to find that Barratt could help them afford to trade up to a larger home. Neil comments: “Barratt paid our five per cent deposit and helped with the Stamp Duty and legal fees. In total this saved us £20,000 and so we only paid £249,999 for a three-bedroom house, which we thought was fantastic value.” Angie adds: “The sales people at Barratt were very good and helped us a lot. They even recommended a solicitor to us, who was excellent.”

After living at Church View for several months, Neil and Angie are finding that it suits them perfectly. Neil, a trade manager, and Angela, a project manager, are both based in central London and commute into work by train. Neil says: “An easy journey into work is very important to us. Laindon station is within walking distance and it only takes 35 minutes to Fenchurch Street. We’ve been amazed to find that it’s as quick getting to work from Church View as it was from our home in East London.”

Church View is set around a green and close to lovely countryside. Although the setting is peaceful, Basildon town centre is less than a mile away and has a great range of shops, cafés, bars and restaurants. Angie says: “Getting into Basildon is very easy, and there’s everything we need nearby, including a big Asda supermarket.”

Angie adds: “We like going for walks in Langdon Hills Country Park, which is close to our home, and we usually go camping in the summer, although we won’t want to do that as much now because we’ve got our own garden to enjoy.”

Neil and Angie’s new home is a three-bedroom ‘Bisley’ townhouse, which is arranged over three storeys. There is a very large open-plan living/kitchen/dining area on the ground floor, with French doors opening on to the garden, and a separate lounge on the first floor. Angie comments: “It’s a very clever design and having our bedroom on the top floor means that we’re not disturbed by noise from the ground floor if one of us is staying up late with friends.”

Neil adds: “We’re very impressed by our house. It’s very well built and finished to a high standard. We were also able to choose optional extras such as fitted wardrobes and a dishwasher which represented fantastic value for money. We’d always thought that new homes are really small, but ours is a very good size and has lots of space.”

Every bedroom is a double and there are three bathrooms: a family bathroom, an en suite bathroom to the master bedroom and a further shower room. “It’s great having guest bedrooms and three bathrooms, and there’s plenty of room if we want to start a family in the future,” says Angie.

Just a few three-bedroom homes remain for sale at Church View, priced from £244,995. Barratt is offering a range of incentives to help buyers in all situations. These include Head Start, where only 85 per cent of the purchase price is paid; the remaining 15 per cent is an interest-free loan that can be repaid at any time up to ten years. Alternatively, Barratt can pay five per cent towards the deposit or people with an existing home can sell it to Barratt in part-exchange towards a house at Church View, saving time, hassle and estate agent fees.

For more information, visit Barratthomes.co.uk.