Home sweet home at Manor Grange

After living for 25 years in the same house, Amanda Tate was keen to move but couldn’t find a new home which ticked all the right boxes. But her 18-month search ended with a visit to Manor Grange at Wingate, near Durham, when she set her sights on a 4-bedroom ‘Ripon’ home, one of Barratt North East’s most popular designs.

“I had lived in the same house for 25 years and brought up three children there, so moving to a new home was a huge step for me,” she said.

“I had been looking around for about 18 months but every new house I viewed wasn’t quite right. Either the location was wrong or the house was too small, I just never got the feeling that any of them would become my home.

“But when I came to Manor Grange I knew straight away that this was the right house and the place for me. It had everything I’d been looking for.”

Amanda, curriculum manager at East Durham College, heard of the development from her brother, John Scorer, who had just bought a ‘Ripon’ there himself.

“He rang me to say he had bought a house that I might like too, so I went straight over to have a look,” she said.

“I thought it was just perfect for me, so I decided to buy the same design just around the corner.

“I’m over the moon. I love the Ripon’s living area because it’s so spacious. Although I only have my son Shane living with me, when my daughters visit with the grandchildren it means we can all be together in the same room. That wouldn’t have been possible in some of the other houses I looked at which had small living rooms.

“The location is ideal and there are a lot of families living here with children around the same age as Shane, so he likes it too.”

Amanda added: “I had heard such a lot of people say how stressful moving house was, but it only took six weeks from start to finish and I had a lot of help and advice from Julie Hodds, the sales adviser, and Colin Reynolds, the site manager. They answered all my questions and I got an excellent deal.”

Brother John and partner Hayley Morris had also been looking for a new home without success when they discovered Manor Grange one Sunday afternoon.

“We were just driving around when we spotted it and called in,” said garage owner John. “We were so impressed we put a deposit down on the day. It’s exactly what we had been looking for, a wonderful home in a good area. When I called Amanda she was over within the hour!”

The 4-bedroom ‘Ripon’ has a spacious and light living room, and dining room with French doors. The design incorporates an integral garage yet still manages to provide a spacious fitted breakfasting kitchen complete with oven, hob and extractor hood. There is also a useful utility room and cloakroom, and an en suite to the main bedroom.

Barratt is currently offering a variety of deals at Manor Grange, including part exchange and its innovative Dream Start scheme for first-time buyers, which means you could move in for just 75 per cent of the price with no deposit to pay.

And for fast movers Barratt will pay legal and moving costs and include free carpets and kitchen appliances.

Manor Grange is surrounded by countryside and natural attractions, including the impressive Castle Eden Dene, and is well-located for commuting to North East business centres.

A brand new showhome is opening very soon. For more information, log on to Barratthomes.co.uk/manorgrange.