When Shannon McDonagh and Anthony McKinnon started looking for their very first home, they thought that the most they could stretch to would be a two-bedroom flat. And they also thought that they would have to move away from their families in Castlemilk in order to find it.
But after Cruden Homes (West) began building its range of 98 two and three-bedroom terraced and semi-detached homes in Cathkin View, the young couple were able to secure a brand new, three-bedroom dream home. And it was right on their doorstep.
Shannon (25), who works for a housing association and Anthony (25), a joiner, both grew up in Castlemilk and before they started house-hunting they were living between the homes of both of their parents.
Disappointed by their search for a flat, where what they found offered little in the way of space or storage, they had already started looking at new build homes, but discovered that many of these were also on the small side.
And then they visited the show home at Cathkin View, close to where they were living and were hugely impressed about what they could afford. “Once we had decided that a flat wasn’t going to give us what we wanted, we looked at a lot of new homes, but this was a lot more spacious than anything else on offer,” says Shannon.
As first-time buyers they thought the process of securing a new home and moving into it would be stressful, but they were helped at every stage along the way by Cruden Homes’ staff.
“They told us about the First Home Fund, without which we wouldn’t have been able to buy our house, and they also offered to put us in touch with a solicitor and an independent financial advisor, if we needed them.”
With the details all settled it was just a case of waiting, and watching, until last November when their new home was ready.
“Because we lived so close to the development, we were always popping in to see how our house was coming along. And if we couldn’t make it, for any reason, Michelle the sales manager would email us photographs at key moments, such as the scaffolding coming down.
“Michelle still pops round to see how we are getting on and she and site managers Phil and Davey, and the whole team at Cruden have been brilliant. They didn’t disappear once the house was sold; they’ve kept in touch at every step.
Now Shannon and Anthony are happily settled in a three-bedroom ‘Oak’ and their Pomeranian, Fudge, is enjoying tearing about the garden.
And for the couple, having a three-bedroom property means that their other dreams won’t have to be put on hold either. “We want to start a family fairly soon, so this means that we won’t have to move again,” says Shannon.
It also means that she won’t have to leave her new kitchen: “it is a big space, and we were able to choose our own units, so we upgraded to a gloss finish. I just love it.
“When you buy an older property, you’ve got all the expense of updating it yourself, but here we were just able to move in and enjoy it.”
Shannon and Anthony were so impressed with their new home that they sang the praises of the development to their friends, one of whom has now also moved into a property on the development, although others missed out because the development sold so quickly.
“We would recommend Cruden Homes to anyone,” says Shannon.
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