The Piazza attracts overseas buyers

The Piazza, Barratt’s popular development in Chippenham, Wiltshire, is attracting overseas buyers as well as families and people new to the property market. David and Norma Dunthorn, a retired couple living in Almeria, Spain, were visiting one of their children in Chippenham last September, when they heard about The Piazza and decided to take a look.

“We wanted to get back into the UK property market and buy a home we would be happy to live in if deteriorating health made it impossible for us to continue living overseas,” said David (63). “The plan was to rent the house out for the foreseeable future.
“Initially we looked at older properties, but most of them had unrealistically high prices and needed costly repairs, so we decided to investigate new build options and discovered The Piazza. The location was ideal, within walking distance of the town centre and railway station, and with easy access to the M4 motorway.

“Barratt made us a fantastic offer on a two-bedroom Roseberry house which was still under construction, and the sales negotiator, Karen Box, was really helpful,” David continued.

“She told us that all Barratt homes came with a two year warranty, and we were able to negotiate a package to ensure that the new house would be virtually fitted out and ready for tenants when complete.

“Although we were back in Spain while the house was being finished it certainly wasn’t a case of ‘out of sight, out of mind’. Karen kept us informed of progress with emails and photos, and we finally completed the purchase at the beginning of December. Despite the distance between us, Barratt made buying a home at The Piazza a relaxing and stress-free experience,” David concluded.

Current availability at The Piazza includes one and two-bedroom coach houses priced from £119,995, and three-bedroom houses priced from £165,995. A number of buyer incentives are available, including part exchange for people moving up to a larger home.

First-time buyers and key workers can take advantage of Home Buy Direct, a new government-backed shared equity initiative. With this scheme, they only have to secure financing for 70 per cent of the purchase price and no deposit is required. Barratt matches the government’s funding by providing the 30 per cent equity loan to the homebuyer.

Chippenham is an old market town with an excellent range of shops, restaurants, bars and pavement cafes. Located close to countryside, historic houses and picturesque villages, it lies less than four miles from the M4, offering easy access to Swindon, Bristol and Bath.

For further details, log on to Barratthomes.co.uk.