Spring PX helps Damian and Jane move to their forever home

Moving home is without question, a big deal, and a recent study by Benenden Health reveals that buying a house is in the top 10 ‘most stressful life events’. So, when Damian and Jane decided to downsize their Preston home of 28 years, they wanted it to be the last time they ever moved and be their forever home.

Taking the time to plan

Planning for retirement is vital and one which should be tackled as soon as possible. According to Age UK, its essential to think ahead on how you can finance your retirement to make sure you can afford the retirement you want, plus consider how you will stay active and social once you leave work. All of these factors were taken into account by Damian and Jane for a long time before making the move they had both dreamed of.

“We didn’t want to move again when we got older, so wanted this to be our last ever move. Whilst we both have our health now, we wanted to move into a retirement complex where we could enjoy our retirement to the full and enjoy all that’s on offer. Then, as we get older and if the time comes where we may need some extra help, we wouldn’t need to move again as it would all be there for us to use in the complex”, said Damian.

Choosing the right location

Once the couple decided a retirement village would be ideal, they began their search in and around the Lancashire area they knew and loved.

“We’d always wanted to move to Lytham St Annes, it’s about 30 mins from where we lived in Preston. It’s a pretty town with local independent shops and a good selection of places to eat. Jane has family there and we loved that it was so close to the sea front - it was an ideal location for us to move to and settle down there for our retirement,” explained Damian.

Finding the dream

With their dream location agreed, the couple planned a visit to view an apartment at ‘The Sidings’, a beautiful Adlington Retirement Living complex in the heart of Lytham St Annes. “The Sidings ticked all the boxes for us in terms of facilities, location, and the type of apartments available. It’s less than a 5-minute walk from the sea front and right in the heart of the town, so it was perfect,” said Jane. “We also knew that they offered extra help and assisted living services, so for planning ahead as we age, it was ideal if we needed some extra support.”

Making the move

Following a successful visit, the couple fell in love with a second floor, 2 bed apartment with study and a balcony that looked out onto the manicured communal gardens. “Once we found the apartment, we put our house on the market straight away. At the time, the market was very hot, and we got an offer agreed within a week. We told our buyer that we could move as soon as was required and if our Adlington apartment wasn’t ready, we would move into Jane’s sisters house temporarily to make sure we didn’t delay the chain,” said Damian.

However, just as the couple were about to complete, they received a phone call no seller wants to answer. “We’d already moved into Janes sisters house, but a week before we were finally due to complete our estate agent told us our buyers had changed their minds and suddenly pulled out. We were very disappointed, it was so stressful, and we ended up moving back into our house 2 days before Christmas,” explained Damian.

So, with no buyer and a slow property market over the festive period, the couple decided to speak to Adlington Retirement Living to discuss their options to ensure they didn’t lose The Sidings apartment they had fallen in love with.

“It was a coincidence that we had a leaflet drop through the door about The Sidings offering Part-Exchange, just as our house sale had fallen through. It was fate, so we contacted the team at The Sidings who put us in touch with Spring. We were amazed at how quickly Spring made us an offer and got our sale progressing; it was brilliant as we just wanted to move as soon as we could. Valerie, our contact at Spring arranged all the independent valuations and survey very quickly. Even our own solicitor couldn’t believe how fast things were moving, it was amazing”, said Jane.

Settled and happy

With their Spring sale guaranteed to complete, the couple were able to re-book their removals and start to plan ahead. “We moved into The Sidings in just under a month from our first contact with Spring, the timings suited us perfectly. Ever since we’ve moved here, it’s felt like we’re on holiday and now live in a hotel,” said Jane. “We’ve got a lovely restaurant on site, coffee lounge, lots of daily activities, and there is even a hair salon where our niece can come in and cut our hair for us. We love our apartment; it’s the perfect size and we’ve even turned our study into a walk-in-wardrobe. For me, one of the best features is the balcony with its views of the beautiful gardens, we feel very lucky.”

“We are so glad we made the move and even better that we don’t ever have to move again. It’s a huge weight off our shoulders and now we can just get on with enjoying our retirement to the full. We are delighted with the service we received from Spring and would highly recommend the Part-Exchange process to our friends and family - its enabled us to live the dream life we wanted.”

All the Spring team wish Damian and Jane a long, happy and healthy retirement in their new home.

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