Christine and Alan’s story

Couple choose chain-free buying to part exchange their home and escape to the country

After their children flew the nest, Christine and Alan decided to move from their family home of 20 years. The village location and low-maintenance, modern properties at Cala Homes’ Ufford Chase development had just what they were looking for. And, thanks to Cala’s Part Exchange service, they were able to overcome complexities threatening their move and buy chain-free.

“When our family home was emptied of kids and pets, we began looking around for a place to relocate to,” Christine said. “Great Bentley just had a lovely feel to it and stood out as somewhere we could really see ourselves living.

“We were keen to leave Clacton for an area with a more countryside feel but which was still accessible for when family wanted to visit and stay with us. There’s a welcoming community feel in the area and the development is sympathetic to the village, offering high quality, gorgeous homes which are spacious and thoughtfully set out.

Chain-free move with home part exchange

“Although we didn’t initially go down the Part Exchange route, when our move was delayed due to a lease at the bottom of the chain, Cala kindly offered us the option of stepping into the chain in our place, leaving us free to buy our home directly from Cala without any further delays.”

Many Cala customers make use of the Part Exchange service as it gives the certainty of a chain-free move without any estate agent fees, Home Reports or survey costs. Cala’s Part Exchange valuations are free and no-obligation, so it is easy to explore whether the homebuilder can help with a smoother move.

Christine continued: “With things suddenly moving more quickly, the holiday we’d had booked for months was now going to fall the day after completion of our sale. Cala understood this wouldn’t leave us enough time to move so were brilliant in granting us licence to stay in our home for two weeks after completion.

“This allowed us to go away and still have a week when we returned from holiday to get ourselves organised and have a much more relaxing move, despite it being the hottest day of the year when we did in fact move!”

Couple outside home
close up image of the couple

An energy-efficient home

With energy prices on the rise, Christine and Alan were also attracted by the savings they could make in the long-term by leaving behind their 50-year-old house in Clacton-on-Sea and moving to a more energy efficient new-build. 

New homes are built to a layout and specification which means 85% have an A or B EPC rating*, compared to just 4% of existing properties. According to the Home Builders Federation, on average, those living in new homes save more than £2,000 on household bills per property each year. For buyers of houses the savings are even greater at £2,600 a year*!

Choosing to right-size

Christine and Alan say they chose the development for many reasons, but mainly because they could enjoy the space and features of modern living with an idyllic ‘chocolate box’ feel. “We opted for a three story four-bedroom detached house which gives plenty of space for our adult children, partners and pets to visit and stay with us. We have good sized rooms, the main bedroom in particular is beautiful with an exceptionally high ceiling and a bank of fitted wardrobes.

“The Cala team were brilliant from start to finish, we felt they really cared about the nuances of our move and did everything they could to make it as easy as possible. We’re absolutely in love with our new home.”

Visit the Cala website to find new homes near you and find out how the team can help you move. 

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