Ally and Dan

Caerlee Mill, Innerleithen – 2020

“I (Ally) work for social work/care services as a clerical assistant, with a background in pharmacy and Dan is a plumbing and heating engineer.

We both lived in West Sussex before moving to Innerleithen last September to stay with a friend, Lou, whilst waiting patiently for our house to be ready!

We live in the Dow, 3 bedroom terraced property. We moved in on the 24th March 2020 – the day before lockdown!

The main selling point of the house was that it had plenty of room for us, as well as being able to host our families and friends who come to stay regularly.

We chose a new build as our first home as we were keen to be able to just ‘move in’ without having to spend months working to make the place feel like ours – we had toyed with the idea of a ‘project’ but as first time buyers, moving 400+ miles from our families, it didn’t seem the right thing to do.

My favourite thing in our new home is the kitchen – it is where I seem to spend most of my time! – and it’s finished to such a high standard – it’s hard to imagine what it’ll look like from samples, and I did have a fair few sleepless nights worrying that my interior design skills would leave a lot to be desired! – but I have got to say I love it.

When you move into a new property you anticipate there will be some small things that need to be worked on after you’ve moved in, and even more so when you move in just before lockdown, but the only small ‘gripe’ we would have is the garden – the drainage/landscaping isn’t great so we’re planning various ways to aerate the grass to stop water pooling.

We moved to Innerleithen after spending many holidays here staying with my sister and being keen mountain bikers, it seemed the natural place to settle! The development is in the ideal location – a short pedal to Innerleithen and Caberston forests and the bike path to Glentress. We also love the community here – everyone is so nice, and we have really ‘lucked out’ with our neighbours as we definitely class them all as friends now.

Marketing wise, we were directed to you by my sister who knew people enquiring about the development in the initial stages. We also started following you on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date.

The sales process was great – especially as first-time buyers – you don’t know what to expect and you all made it so easy. I wouldn’t say there was any need to improve the service – I would say that for first time buyers, a sort of ‘handy guide’ including local solicitors would be good – we were only aware of one firm and when it came to using them it wasn’t the smoothest process ever.

Your Caerlee Mill team have been fantastic – we have dealt mostly with Toria, Mel and Charlie and I have got to say that nothing has ever been too much trouble for any of them. They’re approachable and knowledgeable and an absolute pleasure to deal with. Mel has been brilliant – we must have darkened her doorway many times in the time between the show home opening and moving in – but she’s always pleasant and smiling!

The handover on the day we moved in was strange to say the least – we were so anxious with the lockdown that we wouldn’t be able to move in to a house that had been our sole focus for a year or so. Charlie met us, showed us around and explained how to work the boiler (which ended in hilarity once Dan explained he fitted boilers for a living!) and various other appliances and showed us little bits and pieces he had noticed that would get passed on for snagging. I think we were just so relieved to be in we didn’t mind! The most stressful part of moving was the fact that most of our belongings were still in our family homes down in Sussex, and with the discussions around restricting travel beginning to rumble into life, we were worried we would be sleeping on the floor until lockdown eased! Luckily my father in law managed to get up in a Luton van and if memory serves me correctly, arrived back in Sussex hours before the travel restrictions were officially announced!

Location-wise the development is perfect for us – like I said before being bikers it’s ideal, but also as I work in Peebles the commute is next to nothing, I sometimes cycle down the bike path as it’s well under an hour to my office. Most of our social circle live in Innerleithen/Walkerburn so being close enough to pop to the pub for a drink (socially distanced of course!) or just to pop to a friend for a cup of tea makes life so much simpler. Growing up, I lived in a very rural area and couldn’t just ‘pop’ to the shops so this is a real novelty! The first takeaway we had delivered was like Christmas to me!

Scotland is really special to us – both hailing from England, we never anticipated having the chance to move to one of the most beautiful parts of the world. It certainly feels like home now.

We have both ‘slowed down’ since moving – I work part time now, and Dan often tries to take a Friday off (mainly to take advantage of the Adrenalin Uplift!) – a far cry from my long hours working in the pharmacy sector in the South. We feel as though we have struck the perfect work/life balance now.

The development as a whole is lovely – we’ve made some great friends, and looking forward to making even more.

I’ve been meaning to take more photos of our home now it’s taking shape and we’re putting our stamp on it, so when I eventually get round to it (!) I will make sure to tag you in them on social media!”

We would recommend Whiteburn for sure, and wish you all the best for the future – can’t wait to see the development all finished!