Lea and Roger

Caerlee Mill, Innerleithen – 2021

The couple visited relatives already living at Caerlee Mill and after visiting them decided it was the ideal location for them to move to, following Roger’s retirement. They decided to downsize, and Lea is from Innerleithen originally. Lea remembers the mill growing up as a child, and it was a big local employer, and some of her family had worked at the mill. Her sister recently gave her a watercolour picture of the old mill and she was able to see where her house now sits in the former mill grounds. This added an element of sentimental significance for Lea.

The couple faced some delays due to Covid restrictions and winter conditions, but understood this was out with anyone’s control, and the Whiteburn team kept them “always informed” and that “There was always someone there at the end phone” to keep them updated on the progress.

In August 2021, the couple moved into a 2-bedroom Gill property. The appeal was that the property required “very little maintenance” and it is “a lot more energy efficient” than their previous home. Their previous home had used log burners and oil-fired radiators to heat the 3-bedroom cottage. The pair said, “we’re delighted with the new home”, and they mentioned that “The finish is lovely” and they “like the Industrial style that reminds you of the of mill.”

Once in their new home, the couple started to style their home. They have enjoyed starting from scratch as the property was so different from their previous house, and set about buying new furniture and making their house their home.

When asked about any stand-out features of their home, Roger said “I like the open plan – it’s really good. I’ve never lived in an open plan before but it’s great. You can do a bit of cooking and a bit of chatting – it suits us well. You’re not stuck in a kitchen somewhere. It’s a good use of space. It’s sociable. I was unsure at first, but it’s great.”

They feel that the Caerlee Mill development has “quite a community feel, the way it’s set out – people are friendly, and there’s no traffic rushing through. It’s very quiet with no traffic.” The pair are keen hill walkers, and Lea had said “I love being able to see hills from window, and we’re able to see Lee Pen (local hill) – that takes me back to my childhood, and we can also see up the Leithen Valley, which is really nice.” One of the reasons they chose their corner property was for the wonderful surrounding views.

An added bonus for Roger is that the River Tweed (which has of the best salmon fishing in Europe) is on his doorstep “I do a bit of fishing, and the Tweed is just down the road, so it’s perfect for me”, and he managed to catch two salmon last year.

When asked about the sales and aftercare process of the purchase of their home, the couple said in unison that:

Toria (the Sales Manager) was great – very nice”, adding “In fact, I don’t think we had any problems…no issues at all” with the sales process. The couple thought the welcome meeting, prior to their move in day was helpful and informative, and that their new home “exceeded our expectations really, on finish, space etc.

Whiteburn use a system called FixFlow for any communications on reporting issues with the homeowner’s properties and this proved effective, and Roger and Lea said that “there were only one or two very small issues, no major” but “We knew that if we put something on Fixflow, someone would be round in a day or two. Mark (Caerlee Mill’s Assistant Site Manager) was very obliging and it’s nice to have a friendly face.”

Overall, the couple described their homebuying journey — from the staff interactions to the sales process and aftercare — as “excellent.”, and when asked if they’d recommend Whiteburn to friends and family they responded “Yes, definitely. No problem at all.” The couple even mentioned that then the satellite tv engineer was in their home, he had commented that the “fittings are far better in here” than his new build, in a nearby town.