When Semone Miller visited the Bovis Homes sales office at Stortford Fields in Bishop’s Stortford to find out more about the properties available, she ended up putting down a deposit on a house there and then.
“I’m so pleased I did it,” she said.
Semone, 53, was living nearby in a three-bedroom detached house and had been thinking over the possibility of moving to a smaller, more modern place for several years, but never taken the plunge.
Working as cabin crew out of nearby Stansted Airport, just eight miles away, Semone has a busy life and was keen to find a home that would be easier to maintain.
She had seen work start on the different phases of Stortford Fields over the past five years, since construction began in 2018, and occasionally taken a drive around the development, off Hadham Road, but at the start of last year, she resolved to find out more and visited the sales office.
The Bovis Homes sales consultants showed her the designs for the development and the different house styles, and she decided it was time to take action. She reserved a two-bedroom end-of-terrace house in the homebuilder’s Hawthorn house style off-plan.
“I knew they would go quick!” said Semone. “I know that two-beds especially go quickly around here so I thought if I don’t put a deposit down today somebody else will come along and take it.”
Although Semone loved the space of her old home, the house, which was built in the 1990s, was getting to the stage of needing work and renovations that would take time and money to do.
“It was just too big for me to maintain,” she said. “The garden was big and I got to the stage where in a way I had lost interest. Too much needed doing. There was sentiment and memories attached to the house, but I had to be practical, and I thought I can’t stay here forever.”
Semone sold her old house last June and stayed in a friend’s place while she waited for her new home to be built. And she enjoyed her regular visits to the site where she saw her house grow from the ground up.
Having reserved her plot at an early stage she was also able to choose all the fixtures and fittings, upgrading the flooring, doors and kitchen items so that it was just as she wanted.
The sales consultants were always available to help with information or advice, if needed, and the site manager was also very helpful during the process, she said.
Then just before Christmas – and more than three months ahead of schedule – the house was finished, and she completed the purchase, paying £395,000 for her new home. She took a week or two to get things ready and in January she moved in.
“My bedroom is so much bigger than my old bedroom,” she said. “It’s just heaven. It’s lovely. And I have a nice size bathroom and the spare room is a good size.
“The lounge has patio doors, and they make it very light and airy, and the garden is south facing.
“I love the house and I’ve loved it since I moved in. The first night here I slept well, and I woke up thinking ‘I’m in my home. I’m settled now.’”
There’s currently a choice of two, three, four and five-bedroom homes available to reserve at Stortford Fields, with prices starting from £374,995.
References to “we”, “us” or “our” are to the part of the Vistry Group (including Linden Homes, Bovis Homes, Countryside Homes, Drew Smith or one of Vistry’s joint venture companies) from which you are intending to purchase a new home. References to "you” and “your” are to the prospective buyer or buyers of a new home from us.
All images are used for illustrative purposes only and are representative only. They may not be the same as the actual home you purchase and the specification may differ. Images may be of a slightly different model of home and may include optional upgrades and extras which involve additional cost. Individual features such as windows, brick, carpets, paint and other material colours may vary and also the specification of fittings may vary. Any furnishings and furniture are not included in any sale. Please check with our sales consultants for details of the exact specifications available at the development(s) for each type of home and the associated prices.
