Retired couple find down-sizing a delight in Braehead

After 16 years of living at their beloved golf club, Gavin and Myra Malloch have decided it’s time to put the clubs to bed, and leave their four–bedroom home to settle down to quieter times in a brand new Redrow apartment in Braehead.

Leaving a big old house to move to a tidy two-bedroom apartment could perhaps take some getting used to. But for Gavin, 65, and Myra, 61, the move has given them a happy reminder of how they first got onto the property ladder. Gavin said: “Buying this home has given my wife and me the same buzz that we got buying our first two-bedroom home when we got married.

“We’ve since lived in three and four-bedroom homes but, now it’s just my wife and me again, the new Redrow apartment is ideal. Because it has two bedrooms we can have friends and family to stay over as well, plus it should also be cheaper to run.

“I have been clubmaster at Renfrew Golf Club for 16 years and we have lived there all this time. Everything about the house felt old, and it was never ours. This apartment however is brand new and it will be nice to get a fresh start again.”

The apartments at Riverside Point, close to the Braehead shopping and entertainments complex, are perfect for a range of home buyers, not least down-sizers like the Mallochs, as Diana Newton, sales director for Redrow Homes (Scotland) explains:

“There are numerous advantages to owning a new apartment, especially for people moving from a larger or older house. The more efficient heating and insulation in new homes makes them up to 40% more energy efficient than older homes, with the potential to save owners up to £556* a year in average energy bills compared to older style homes.

“Adding to this they require little or no maintenance, communal areas are taken care of by a management company, there’s no rambling garden for the owner to tend and they’re great to ‘lock up and leave’, while you jet off for a quick two-week break or even six months in sunnier climes.”

Travelling is definitely on the agenda for the Mallochs, as Gavin explains: “I have a sister in Australia and I have never been over to see her in more than 18 years. Also our son lives in Spain so we will be visiting him as well once I retire. It will be nice to know we have our very own place to come back to though.

“The location of Riverside Point is perfect as I am still working at the golf club and that is only a few miles away. It is close to the airport, only half an hour from the coast and convenient for Glasgow city centre. Braehead shopping centre is nearby as well and that has everything you could need.”

A two-bedroom apartment at Riverside Point can currently be bought for £148,995, with a range of three and four-bedroom houses also available from £174,995 to £227,995. A choice of incentives on selected plots includes part-exchange; the opportunity to defer 25% of the initial purchase price for up to 10 years, interest free; or a specially negotiated fixed rate mortgage with an interest rate for two years of just 2.75%.

For more information, log on to Redrow.co.uk.

* Research study by National Energy Services, commissioned by the New Homes Marketing Board. Info: nhmb.co.uk