Anyone beginning to lose hope of ever moving to the right house in the right area will take heart from Karen’s story.
Karen, who has rheumatoid arthritis, moved into her bungalow in north Glasgow in Spring 2013, and her story shows that patience and perseverance pay off in the end! Following her divorce, Karen was keen to return to relocate from Ayrshire to north Glasgow to be near her parents and sister.
“I had a lot going on health wise at this time. I’d had a succession of operations – hips, spine, knees – just about everything, and I wanted to be closer to my family.”
Unfortunately, this decision coincided with the beginnings of recession and the property downturn.It didn’t help that the first estate agent she appointed went out of business!
“When they went bust, I really didn’t know what to do!”
Luckily, an Internet search brought her into contact with us, and with our re-assurance and assistance, Karen gained the confidence to carry on.
“The process was really straightforward. I filled in the forms and it seemed that Housing Options were in touch almost by return of post.”
One of the first things we did was help find another estate agent willing to sell without any initial outlays.
“We managed to find an agent who would include all promotional expenses in their final commission. With the worry of the expense of selling out of the way, I concentrated on thinking about how I was going to afford to buy in Glasgow, where properties were more expensive than the price I was likely to raise from selling in Ayrshire.”
The most obvious option seemed to be shared equity, but since Karen already had a mortgage agreement with her bank, HO persuaded her to have a word with the manager- with the unbelievable result of him agreeing to help with her finances.
When her house finally sold last year- after being on and off the market for nearly three years- Karen was able to start some serious viewings in Glasgow. It didn’t take long to find her perfect house- a small bungalow near her parents. Despite its outward appearance being slightly off-putting – painted as it was in a garish shade of pea green- Karen could see it had huge potential.
As soon as she got the keys, she immediately got to work on planning the necessary adaptations. An achievement of which she is most proud is the design and project management of her magazine style wet room – gaining in the process tips she has since been able to use again.
“I did all the research for the wet room myself and was luck to find a small team of local workers who were able to put my ideas into practice. I’m now in the process of designing a wet room for mum and dad and I know exactly what to do!”
Now settled ten minutes away from her parents and sister, Karen feels a lot better.
“Honestly, I never thought I was going to be able to get to this point and I am so thankful for all the help and support I got from Housing Options. They really gave me the confidence to keep going. I’d advise anyone to get in touch and see if they can help. They are so easy to talk to. I think what sets them apart from other organisations is that they stay with you from start to finish, helping you every step of the way.”