Marriage Foundations Laid At Building Site

Every new home at Barratt Homes is special, but for recently betrothed couple Adam Goldsmith and Nicki Tonge theirs will be extra-special, as he proposed to her in it while it was still being built!

Adam popped the question to Nicki while on a visit to the site in early September after reserving the plot at the Latimer Gardens development in Burton Latimer. The couple bought the plot a few days later.

"I was so surprised," said Nicki (36) from Coventry, "he got down on one knee in the middle of the building site and asked me to marry him! He'd asked my parents beforehand, and he'd even told the staff at the site - everyone knew except me!"

Adam (33), from Thrapston, said "We'd had our eye on a plot in Latimer Gardens for some time, and I thought 'where better to ask Nicki to spend her life with me than the place in which we wanted to live together?' I asked the sales staff if it would be OK to do it there and they said it was fine. I'm really grateful that they were so helpful!"

Adam and Nicki bought the house soon after, with assistance from the government's Help to Buy scheme. The couple plan to marry in December of this year, and will move into the four bedroom house once it is completed early next year.

Andrew Swindell, Managing Director for Barratt Homes, said, "Adam and Nicki had been visiting our site regularly for over a year so they were well known. They had their eye on a specific plot so when it became available we let them know. A few weeks later Adam asked if we'd let him propose there and of course we said yes.

"We made sure they wouldn't be disturbed and when they visited us again they were taken to the plot, left to it, and when they came out again they were engaged!

We love to build relationships with our customers here at Barratt Homes, so we're over the moon, not just because they want to start their new life in one of our lovely new homes, but because they shared their special moment with us."

Adam and Nicki met at work, where they produce recordings of Salvation Army bands. Adam already has two children, Lyra (6) and Jonah (4), and Nichola thinks the spacious, three storey house will be ideal for them. "The top floor will be huge and open plan, and there'll be a garden as well for Jonah and Lyra to explore," she said, "we're really looking forward to moving in!"

Adam and Nicki bought the property using the popular Help to Buy scheme, which allows prospective buyers in England to purchase a home with just a 5% deposit. The government then lends them a 20% equity loan, leaving the buyers to take out a mortgage of just 75% from a bank or building society.

"Help to Buy was a massive help to us when we decided to purchase the house," Nicki says, "it was something of an afterthought really, but once we realised how much more spending power it gave us we went for it whole-heartedly.

Andrew concluded, "Family is obviously as important to Adam and Nicki as it is to us at Barratt Homes, and we're thrilled they will be starting their new life together here."

Like all other Barratt homes the houses at Latimer Gardens benefit from energy efficient features including double glazing, central heating and high levels of insulation, as well as an exclusive five year guarantee on all fixtures and fittings.

It is a development of stylish three and four bedroom homes from £175,995, and with fewer than 10 plots still available, potential buyers are encouraged to have a look as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

To find out more please call the sales centre on 0844 811 3399 or log onto the website at www.barratthomes.co.uk

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NOTES TO EDITORS
1) For further information about Barratt Homes please contact Hannah Elwell or Alex Scoppie, Unsworth Sugden, on 0116 2471777 or hannah@unsworthsugden.co.uk or alex.scoppie@unsworthsugden.co.uk

2) Barratt Group sold 13,663 homes in the year to June 2013, making it the biggest housebuilder by volume in Britain.

3) Barratt Group was awarded a maximum five star rating for the fourth consecutive year in the 2013 Home Builders Federation Customer Satisfaction Survey.

4) In 2013, site managers working for Barratt Group won a record breaking 102 awards for quality workmanship in the NHBC Pride in the Job Quality Awards. This is the highest number ever won by a single company since the competition began in 1980.

5) Barratt Group was named Sustainable Developer of the Year at the What House Awards 2012, in addition to Sustainable Housebuilder of the Year at the Housebuilder Awards 2012.

6) Barratt Group is the only housebuilder to provide a five year warranty on the fixtures and fittings in its new build homes at the time of purchase.