Testimonial
Starting a brighter future together at Woodgate
Deciding on a new build
Spending time apart in during lockdown made Sophie and Jon realise that it was time to put their plans for a shared future into action.
After lots of searching online for their first home, they settled on a new build property at Woodgate, the landmark new development at Pease Pottage by award-winning housebuilder, Thakeham.
“We always knew we wanted to live together but different things got in the way,” said Sophie. “I think spending those three months apart gave us just the push we needed to start looking at houses so we could start our future together. We liked the fact that a new build property is ready to move in to and no costly renovations are needed. We’d consider taking on a renovation project sometime in the future but having a freshly painted house with lovely new carpets was definitely a selling point for us!”
Designed for modern lifestyles, Woodgate provides an outstanding collection of 2, 3 and 4 bedroom homes with high quality specifications and contemporary architecture for a modern community.
Location, location, location
Sophie and Jon wanted to live within easy reach of both their work commitments and their families in Surrey and West Sussex respectively. Pease Pottage is well-connected from its location on the fringes of the Sussex market town of Horsham and bordered by countryside including Tilgate Forest. Woodgate is just moments from the M23 giving access to the wider motorway network, Crawley, Gatwick Airport, and to Brighton & the south coast.
“We researched all the travel options and timings for commuting into London,” said Sophie, “and we both love the combination of Woodgate being so close to the countryside but also so close to city life.
“As soon as we drove into the development we both fell in love with the houses just on the stretch of road leading to the sales office. We had looked at a few other new homes developments and nothing compared to Woodgate. We both loved the feel of it straight away but we didn’t want to get our hopes up too high in case there wasn’t anything available for us.”
Reserving their dream home
But within two weeks of viewing the Woodgate show homes, Jon and Sophie had reserved the new home that would mark the start of their lives together.
“Initially when we came to look at the location of our house, it was just a plot on the ground with no structure so it was really difficult to imagine what it was going to look like. But after viewing inside another 2 bedroom house, we knew it was exactly what we’d been searching for.
“We were able to choose a house with a garage which means we have lots of extra space and storage. We also wanted a property with an en-suite so that was another big tick for us. In the end it was very easy to decide that this was the house for us.”
The reservation was very straightforward and the buying process then started to move quickly. After a setback with their mortgage company, Sophie and Jon were able to secure an alternative lender the following week. Just one week later, they received the mortgage offer they needed to make their dream home a step closer to reality.
Choosing the interiors
“We always kept Thakeham updated and they would often check in with us to see how we were getting on,” Sophie said. “The only thing we then had to decide was the colour scheme for the floors, kitchen cupboards and bathroom tiles. This was exactly what we wanted. Sometimes having too much choice can make things harder and having seen the show home, we knew that the appliances in the property were modern and easy to use so we just didn’t stress about any of it.
“Since moving in, we often say how much we love both our home and the location we live in,” added Sophie. “We are really lucky to have made friends with our adjoining neighbours and look forward to spending summer evenings in the garden with them. We both love our living/dining room as it is a place where we can relax, chat about our days and enjoy play time with our gorgeous puppy. It’s amazing that we can have our patio doors open and it’s so quiet that we all we can hear are birds singing.”
Sophie and Jon added, “The best thing about living at Woodgate is knowing that soon we will have our own little village with a village store, café and community hub. We are looking forward to summer days on the green and we also love the fact that there are so many gorgeous places to walk around and explore with our puppy.
“The team at Thakeham were fabulous throughout and we’ve already recommended Woodgate to lots of our friends. We both feel very grateful that we’d worked so hard to be able to buy our first home together in such a gorgeous location and with lovely people surrounding us.”
Sophie charts the couple’s move to Woodgate on Instagram at @newbuild_newlife which already has more than 5,000 followers and you can follow our updates directly from Thakeham on Instagram.
Visit Woodgate – our Marketing Suites and Showhomes are open 10am-5pm Monday – Sunday.
