After five years in Cowes on Phillip Island Tracey and Brian decided they were ready for a new chapter, one that would offer them more convenience, modern amenities, and a break from neighbouring Airbnbs.<\/p>\n
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Their search led them to Manor Lakes and a new home that\u2019s closer to public transport, shopping, the footy and family.<\/p>\n
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Tracey and Brian had lived in Pakenham, a suburb to the east of Melbourne that\u2019s developing as the city grows.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt just got too busy,\u201d Tracey explains.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt lost that country feel, and everywhere you went, it was crowded. We wanted something different, something quieter.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The couple considered relocating to Queensland, but on a whim, they decided to take a day trip to Cowes on Phillip Island.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe came here for a day, and we just fell in love with the place. We decided to build a house and move here,\u201d Tracey recalls.<\/p>\n
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Their time in Cowes wasn\u2019t as peaceful as they\u2019d hoped. It has lost its island charm and it\u2019s a popular tourist destination. They soon found themselves surrounded by properties for rent.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe had seven Airbnbs just in our little strip,\u201d Tracey says.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt got noisy, especially with people coming and going all hours of the day and night.\u201d<\/p>\n
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In addition to the noise, the lack of infrastructure and the distance from essential services took a toll.<\/p>\n
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As time passed, Tracey and Brian realised that Cowes, while beautiful, wasn\u2019t the ideal place for them anymore.<\/p>\n
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Brian said they needed to be closer to family and services.<\/p>\n
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\u201cMy parents live in aged care in Sunbury, and our daughter is in Werribee. So, we started looking for something more convenient.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Tracey and Brian\u2019s search for a new home took them westward.<\/p>\n
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\u201cBrian\u2019s discovered Google in the last five years,\u201d laughs Tracey.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe looked at a lot of places we\u2019d never even heard of before. And then we came across Manor Lakes.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The couple was drawn to the amenities and lifestyle offered by the area.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe liked the look of the community,\u201d says Tracey.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe wanted somewhere that wasn\u2019t too busy but still had everything we needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
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In October last year, they met Annetha and Alyx, the Sales Team at Manor Lakes, who set up a visit for Tracey and Brian.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThey were both so helpful. Annetha took us through the display homes, and we were really impressed with the layout and the design of the houses,\u201d says Brian.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt was exactly what we wanted,\u201d says Tracey.<\/p>\n
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Their new home features an open-plan living space, modern kitchen, and generous storage.<\/p>\n
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The practical design, combined with its proximity to everything they need, made it an easy choice.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe house had great storage, modern finishes, and was close to all the things we needed. And with the double garage, we had plenty of space.\u201d<\/p>\n
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They felt the Reside Collection Villas perfectly suited their lifestyle and what they want at this stage of their lives.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe didn\u2019t want a massive garden to take care of, but we still wanted enough space to enjoy our time in the backyard. And the Reside Collection Villa was perfect,\u201d Brian says.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s not downsizing, it\u2019s nice-sizing.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe price suited us,\u201d Tracey adds.<\/p>\n
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\u201cAnd we liked the idea of paying the rest on settlement rather than having to do progress payments.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Reside Collection homes are available at a fixed price with no extra costs.<\/p>\n
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Building approvals are taken care of and they require only a 5% deposit. The balance is paid when the home is complete with no progress payments along the way.<\/p>\n
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Tracey and Brian felt supported throughout the entire home buying process.<\/p>\n
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\u201cAnnetha and Alyx were fantastic,\u201d Tracey says.<\/p>\n
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\u201cAnnetha was always quick to respond to Brian\u2019s texts, and Alyx kept us updated with emails. We felt like we were in good hands the whole time.\u201d<\/p>\n
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One of the highlights of the process for Brian and Tracey was the final inspection.<\/p>\n
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\u201cAnnetha even picked us up from the train station when we came for the inspection,\u201d Tracey says.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt was such a nice touch, and we really appreciated the effort they put in to make sure everything went smoothly.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019re excited to finally be in a place where we can have a peaceful, comfortable life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After five years in Cowes on Phillip Island Tracey and Brian decided they were ready for a new chapter, one…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-meet-your-neighbours"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/dev.build.optimodesign.com.au\/manorlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/dev.build.optimodesign.com.au\/manorlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/dev.build.optimodesign.com.au\/manorlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dev.build.optimodesign.com.au\/manorlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dev.build.optimodesign.com.au\/manorlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/dev.build.optimodesign.com.au\/manorlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dev.build.optimodesign.com.au\/manorlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/dev.build.optimodesign.com.au\/manorlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dev.build.optimodesign.com.au\/manorlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dev.build.optimodesign.com.au\/manorlakes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}