When Gill and her husband decided to leave the 6-bedroom Edwardian house they’d called home for 38 years, they weren’t just looking for somewhere smaller. They were looking for somewhere better – lower maintenance, more energy efficient, closer to their grandchildren and ready for the next chapter.
They found it at Gallica in Sissinghurst. We sat down with Gill to hear how the move came together, what surprised her most about life in a Brookworth home and what she’d say to anyone still on the fence.
You'd lived in your previous home for 38 years. What prompted the move?
We were living in Sanderstead – the outskirts of London, really south of Croydon, on the Surrey/Kent borders. It was commuter land and it made sense when we were working in London. That was our family home; our daughters grew up there. It was an Edwardian house with six bedrooms and it got to the point where we weren't working anymore and didn't need to go into London. The house was really quite big and drafty and cold. We just wanted to move. Our daughter lives in Tunbridge with our grandchildren, so we wanted to move in this direction – and we wanted to be somewhere we could get to the M25 for our other daughter up in Nottingham.
What drew you towards a new build rather than an existing property?
Having lived in the drafty Edwardian house, which needed a lot of maintenance, it was just getting to the point where we'd need to repaint the whole thing outside again and you think: do we really want to go through all of that again? We're retired and we want to travel. We wanted somewhere with minimum maintenance and somewhere we can lock and think that's secure if we want to travel.
Does Sissinghurst tick the boxes for your lifestyle?
There's a brilliant shop in the village that sells everything you could possibly want. There's a pub as well, which wasn't critical but it's just nice to have as part of the community. And it just felt very much a community. There's lots going on. There's a horticultural society; we enjoy gardening, so it just felt like there was stuff we could get involved in. Cranbrook, a little market town, is five minutes down the road – with a doctor, hairdresser, dentist. Everything we could want. You're also within distance of Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks. It's a great position, great place to be, easy access to various places.
What was the buying process like?
That was fabulous. Brookworth helped to smooth the way. Jemma, who was our contact at Brookworth from the point we made the reservation – she was fantastic. The problem we had was the process just took forever for various different reasons, mostly the chain. We offered in August and finally moved in the following April. We were hoping to be in by the end of October, end of November at the latest. But Jemma just kept going, kept pushing and was also very reassuring because we hadn't moved for 38 years. She answered emails really quickly. She was on the end of the phone if we needed her. Through the whole thing, I never actually felt it wouldn't happen, because Jemma felt it would. You felt that Brookworth cared, as though they were on your side.
How was the handover when you moved in?
The handover was fantastic. Julie is the customer service contact – once you've completed, it's Julie and Taryn. Julie was here for a pre-completion orientation. She came in, showed us round, gave us an overview of what everything does. Then when we moved in, there were various people scheduled to come and show us around and demonstrate and make sure we were set up well. Particularly Louis from Seven Integration, who are the people who coordinate all the tech. It's a very tech-heavy house, which we're very happy with – we're very tech savvy. But they are always there at the end of an email if you've got a problem. If something isn't working quite as we expected, we'd just email and say is it us, or do we need to tweak it? They did a lot of that in the first few weeks. Also getting the house the way you want it – all the light switches have different settings and they show you how to change those yourself, or they'll change them for you if needs be. We were really well supported.
What struck you most about the quality of the home itself?
The quality of finish. We'd looked at a number of new houses over months and you walked in here and just thought, wow. Every appliance is Miele – so that's the first thing you think, gosh, that's good and it kind of just flows from there. The kitchen was important to me, which is why I noticed all the Miele appliances. The flooring – you walk in and it's impressive. There's a gold trim in the hall and it just looks good. The quality of the doors – the Deuren doors are amazing, all soundproofed and with a seal when they shut. As you're going round looking at the quality, it just stands out. The kitchen is beautifully designed and finished.
What do you still appreciate every day?
For me, it's the kitchen. I really enjoy it. It's well laid out. Now I've got everything where I need it. It flows well and it's just convenient. It's easy to clean, which sounds a bit trivial but it's actually quite important.
Have you noticed a difference in running costs?
We will – we have already slightly, but we haven't had the heating on yet so it's quite hard to tell. I'm sure it will be a lot less, because we had gas central heating before. Having the underfloor heating will make a big difference.
What's the community like?
We came in as number six out of ten houses and there was already a bit of a community going. It was very fortuitous that we moved in on the Wednesday and on the Saturday they were having a neighbours' get together. They invited us along and we met everyone that first Saturday, which was fantastic. We all just clicked and gelled. We've got a WhatsApp group – messages of support when someone's on holiday, but also, what day do the bins go out. It felt like community was important to Brookworth and it has actually manifested that way. You felt from day one that if on the Monday I'd had a bit of a crisis and needed to knock on someone's door, I absolutely could. We all keep an eye out for each other. The little social things have continued – maybe every couple of months we get together for a drink and a chat. It's been really good.
And finally, what would you say to someone considering a Brookworth home?
I would say don't hesitate. I've heard nightmare stories from other people who bought from other developers. With Brookworth, from the quality of the build, the consideration for the community and the after sales service, I don't think you can go wrong.
Thinking about making a move like Gill? Take a look at what’s available at Gallica – or get in touch with our team to arrange a visit at another of our developments.
