Member Article

How Cambridgeshire couple juggled moving house, working from home and becoming parents during the pandemic

St. Neots couple, Lucy and Josh Matthews are settling into their new CALA home at Wintringham after negotiating a house move, working from home, and celebrating the birth of their new baby, all within the last year.

Lucy and Josh moved into their four-bed CALA home just in time for Isla’s arrival in July this year, one of the first babies to arrive at the Cambridgeshire development.

Lucy said: “We were living in a three-bed house at nearby Love’s Farm, but when we found out I was pregnant, we decided that we needed more space as a growing family.

“We came to the CALA development the day after our exciting news and had a valuer back at our house within the same week, as we wanted to explore part exchange. So, within days of finding out we were going to have Isla, we secured our new home!”

With CALA’s part exchange service, there is no need to go through the process of selling an existing property on the open market. The housebuilder acts as a cash buyer, saving on estate agents fees and providing peace of mind that a purchaser’s sale will complete ready for them to move into their new CALA home. With no estate agents’ fees incurred, the service can also save thousands of pounds on the overall cost of the move.

Lucy continued: “We moved to the property in March - ahead of the stamp duty deadline - and set about decorating and nesting in the home, in time for Isla’s summer arrival.”

Josh added: “Within four days of visiting the CALA development, we already had an offer for our old property, and we secured the deposit on our new place. It was a bit of a whirlwind week, but it was an incredibly efficient way of doing things!

Josh continued: “Typically, you’d expect a delay on completion when buying a new build –and people often need to move in with parents or in-laws for a few months. But with CALA, the process was smooth, and it all went through really quickly - all we had to do was worry about packing our furniture.”

“We were happy with the valuation and the sales team were absolutely brilliant throughout the process. When Isla was born, they came round with flowers, a card, and the site manager even brought us some wine to toast our new arrival.”

Lucy continued: “Although Isla is one of the first new babies to be born at the CALA development, there’s certainly a buzz about the community at Wintringham. As big foodies, we absolutely love Street Food Saturdays; it’s given us the chance to meet neighbours and try out the excellent produce from local independent food sellers.

“And once Isla is a little older, we can’t wait to take her to Bret and Ripple Park – the new play area on the development, which opened recently. Once complete, there will be natural play areas that will sit alongside allotments and orchards. It’ll be lovely to explore the green links, natural habitats and learn more about the surrounding wildlife.”

CALA at Wintringham consists of 178 private 1 & 2 bed apartments and 3 & 4 bed homes. Lucy and Josh purchased the four-bed detached Buckden home, which offers a spacious kitchen/breakfast/family room which the couple can adapt to their needs. Now working from home, they have converted their fourth bedroom into an office, which was a key driver when choosing the house.

Josh explained: “Lucy works in advertising, and I work in sales. Before the pandemic, we were commuting into London, but now we’ve got the flexibility to work from home whenever we want.

“That’s been one of the biggest benefits – especially with Isla on the scene. Beforehand, I was getting up at 5:30 in the morning and I often wasn’t home before eight at night.

“Lucy’s commute from Wimbledon – where we used to live - to her office in Fitzrovia, actually took longer than the time it now takes for us to get into London from here. All our colleagues in London joke and say we’re living up North in Newcastle, but it only takes 45 minutes into Kings Cross and it’s a short walk to the station, so the joke’s on them!”

Surrounded by open spaces and within easy reach of St Neots town centre and train station, Wintringham is fast becoming the number one place to live in the area.

There are two proposed parks for the development, centred on Wintringham’s key themes of health, activity and nature. This is set to include ‘The Fort’ play area, inspired by Iron Age roundhouses discovered at the site during early excavations, which will provide inspirational play equipment, tunnels, bridges and picnic tables for families to enjoy.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by CALA Homes .