Like so many Londoners the reality of working from home for the foreseeable future inspired Bianca Claessens and her husband Marco Bettarino to move away in search of a bigger home. But their race for space turned out to be a marathon not a sprint.
It took the couple almost three years to buy a new home in Folkestone, a rollercoaster journey during which they were outbid, undercut, and let down at every turn.
“I honestly feel like I have got a bit of PTSD from it all,” said Bianca. “It was a very painful process.”
Pre pandemic Bianca, 41, who works in human resources for a cybersecurity company, Marco, 49, who was working in digital marketing, and their daughter Myla, now ten, were living in a terraced four bedroom house in Wanstead, east London.
“We were both working from home, and one of us was always working on the dining table,” said Bianca. “We couldn’t afford to have a larger place in Wanstead and then some friends of ours moved to Folkestone and showed us what a lovely place it was and how much more you could get for your money.”
The couple decided to put their house on the market and start house hunting, and that is when things started to go wrong.
“The first house we lost out to a cash buyer,” said Bianca. “The second one was the house of our dreams and we waited for it for two years. Then on the day we were due to exchange contracts the owners changed their minds about the house they were going to buy. They said it was too dark.
“We loved it but we decided we had to give up on it.
“The third house we were gazumped. We felt like someone had died. Our daughter was going to miss her friends and school and she kept on preparing to go and then staying. It was a rollercoaster.”
Eventually, last winter, the family viewed their fourth – and final – house, a detached four bedroom chalet bungalow with a large garden, a study, and garage. “Initially my husband said he was way too young to go and live in a bungalow, but the house had everything we needed,” said Bianca.
To secure the property the couple offered the asking price, £755,000, and managed to find a new buyer for their Wanstead house, which sold for £725,000. “They were our fifth or sixth buyer,” said Bianca.
The family finally moved into their new home in February. The first thing they had to face was redecorating and teething troubles, like discovering the shower leaked and every time the cooker went on it blew the fuses, but now that they are settled they are delighted with the move.
Bianca loves Folkestone for many reasons – the grammar schools, lively cultural scene, and the fact that it is close to the Eurotunnel which makes trips to see her family in Belgium easier – and very much appreciates living by the sea.
“It is just a different pace,” she said. “There is lots to do but it is not as hectic as being in London. When I go back and go on the tube I feel quite claustrophobic. People are just running everywhere, no one walks.”
