Why Putting a First Foot On The Property Ladder Proved Just The Job

In buying a new home with his partner, Allan Thomson not only put a first step on the property ladder, but gained a career promotion too.

Allan, 25, and girlfriend Erin Courtney, 22, had each been living with their parents when they noticed Miller Homes’ St Andrews Brae development in Bearsden.

Allan explained: “We were talking about the future and where we’d like to live and Bearsden came up because Erin was living with her parents in Milngavie.

“She liked it there and knows the area. One day we went down to see the show homes and once we saw the development we just decided to go for it.”

Allan, who was then working as a joiner, and primary school teacher Erin, bought a two-bed first-floor apartment at the development of flats and detached homes, which sits between the new BUPA care home and Bearsden Academy.

The couple were impressed both with the space and layout of their new home, which they moved into in October.

Allan said: “As soon as you open the front door, you’re into the hall and I’ve put coat rails up there because it’s quite roomy.

Further down the hall is the master bedroom, which has an en suite, and because we’ve got build-in wardrobes we’ve got a lot of space.

“If you turn right along the hall on the left is a cupboard. If you keep going it branches off each way, going into the lounge on the left and the second bedroom on the right, which is big as well. There’s a bathroom just before the second bedroom.

“From the lounge there’s a sliding door to the kitchen, so you can have it open-plan if you want or have it closed.”

And it was while chatting to some of the building staff on site that Allan landed himself a new job opportunity as an assistant site manager for Miller.

He explained: “I was putting myself through night classes for two years doing construction management. I got talking to the site manager and said to them I was doing the course and asked how I would go about applying.

“They gave me one of the director’s numbers and he was really helpful. I got an interview and then I got the job.”

Allan and Erin were able to save towards new furniture while living with their parents and now have their home fully kitted out.

“We’ve done a bit of decorating and settled in really well,” said Allan. “Miller helped us with a lot of stuff, like carpets and blinds, and we had a bit of money to get our furniture.”

St Andrews Brae offers a mix of two-bedroom apartments and four and five-bedroom detached villas on the former St Andrews campus.