Milton Trails interview: Future happy home owners
Last week, Fieldgate Homes had the chance to meet with newlyweds Freshta and AJ, who recently bought at our Milton Trails development. As their first home purchase as a married couple, excitement is building up to their scheduled move-in date of February 8th, 2012 and when we visited them, they were brimming with optimism about their impending move.
Check out the interview below to see why they chose Fieldgate Homes, what they’re doing to help prepare for the move, find out about AJ’s new business in Milton and why it’s a very busy few months ahead!
AJ and Freshta, thanks for meeting with us. Can you tell us a bit about yourselves?
Freshta: Well, I’m an employment counselor, so I have a social work background. I assist people who need help looking for work, employment, and counseling, that sort of thing.
We got married on July 24th of last year and have been living here in Brampton in this house that I own with my sister to save a bit of money. My parents used to live here but now they live in Milton.
AJ: I’m a chiropractor by profession. I had been hired on by two part-time jobs so we were looking to find a place of our own, one which was a good balance of nice price point/value but still had as many of the features we wanted in a home, so that’s how we got started.
How did you find out about Fieldgate Homes?
Freshta: From my parents. They were looking to buy a home in Milton. I have an aunt that already lives in Milton, and my parents, my brother, and my other aunt were looking for a house. So they were all looking for a new home – everyone was moving to Milton!
My parents looked at different options and decided to go with Fieldgate Homes. My brother’s fiancee also lives in Milton in a Fieldgate home, so based on what they had, and based on the plans and everything, that’s how we found out.
I lived with them for a few months before we got married and it was a great home, so that’s why I thought to look into Fieldgate Homes as opposed to all the other companies.
We were looking at price which was very important seeing as we’re just starting out – we need to make sure something is affordable for us. Also location was very important, and what the package included. The good thing with Fieldgate Homes is that the basics come with a a lot of great finishes. With the other companies you have to pay more to get the same amount, so that helps us a lot.
AJ: I heard of them through direct mail.
I lived in Markham for a while and we got ads in the mail all the time but we never considered Fieldgate as one of the builders that we wanted to go with until Freshta’s family was involved in purchasing a home through Fieldgate.
Going over to their home, we could see the craftsmanship and quality of the work that was done so that opened our eyes a bit more and made us consider Fieldgate Homes as one of the candidates that we wanted to explore further.
How many other builders were you considering along with Fieldgate?
AJ: We had done some research prior to going out and looking – it was a Sunday right before the New Year and Christmas holidays.
We knew what we wanted in the home and we knew what builders we wanted to check out. We stared early in the day and by the evening, after a couple of meetings in Tim Horton’s, and kind of hashing it back and forth, we decided that Fieldgate Homes had the best combination of price, features that came standard as opposed to optional upgrades, and the location was a huge bonus – right by the escarpment. So essentially, it took us one day to decide!
Freshta: We looked into other builders, went into the model homes and offices, and did all that stuff and we decided it was Fieldgate for us. After researching more, the fact that they have a great reputation gave us more confidence in our choice.
We wanted to be in a place where there was a mix of different types of houses, a mix in the sense of the neighbourhood, and Fieldgate Homes were the only ones to do that. They ticked all the boxes for us!
Your home is due to close February 8th, 2012. What are you doing in the meantime to help you prepare for move-in day?
AJ: Saving up lots of money! (laughs)
We’re also trying to see what do we need as bare essentials for when we move in.
Right now there’s only two of us but we do have plans to have children in the near future and we’re looking forward to that and making sure that whatever we bring with us initially meets the basic essentials as far as furniture and what have you, but also planning ahead 6 months, one year down the line……
Freshta: With the business starting up, it’s been hard to save. Our goal is to start saving a little bit over time, but that hasn’t happened yet – it will hopefully happen once things stabilize with the business.
So the timing with it happening in February is good – it gives us a little bit of space to work towards, a bit of leeway. We’re meeting with our Financial Advisor, making sure we’re budgeting well, getting the right mortgage, and all that kind of stuff.
AJ: We’re also watching a lot of home and garden shows! (laughs)
Freshta: We’ve actually visited the development already. There are a few houses that have been built already – the exact same model as our place.
The doors are locked but we’ve gone down and looked through the windows, so we know what it’s going to look like. We’ve walked through the back yard and looked in through the kitchen window! I want to know what it’s going to look like, right! (laughs) We need to have an idea in terms of what we can do with the interior – furniture etc.
I also want to go in when the construction staff are there to see if they can let us in to check upstairs!
AJ: We’ve been visiting the site a lot. They put up the markers and we’ve taken pictures, and everything! It’s very exciting. It’s our first official home together. Every time we drive by Milton we check in to see what’s happening!
Can you tell us a bit about your business?
AJ: Sure! We’re called “Hands on Healing Chiropractic & Wellness Centre”. We’re a multi-disciplinary centre located in Milton Mall.
Aside from chiropractic and wellness services, we do massage therapy, nutritional counseling and acupuncture. We look forward to everybody in Milton and the surrounding communities coming by and checking us out. We’re open in mid-April and we have some opening specials.
It’s a couple of weeks away so it’s crunch time! There’s lots happening! We’d love to see everyone come out!
What Features do you like about your Fieldgate Home?
Freshta: We liked the fireplace. It’s great. The 9 foot ceilings are awesome – we don’t have to pay extra for that which is great. The size of the kitchen and family room, the way it flows really well – I love that!
Upstairs, the bedrooms – we upgraded to 4 and they’re all decent size which is nice. And also the en suite for the master bedroom – it’s great all the features we get. We don’t have to pay extra for all the nice features – the walk-in closet, the nice big tub…it’s the same with my parents house – I LOVE the master bedroom. So it’s great. It’s nice and spacious.
The laundry room in the basement is great too – I know people who have the laundry upstairs and they don’t like it. They don’t put their laundry in at night because it wakes them up.
AJ: The view from the family room on the North side of the house is great – we can see the escarpment. That was something we were looking for. It’s in a prime location amenity wise. I know there’s plans to develop plazas and parkettes around where our home is going to be.
What was the deciding factor in your purchasing decision?
AJ: We were basing everything around our budget. With that ballpark figure we had in mind, we were comparing relative square footage that we could get for that money from the various builders and Fieldgate Homes came out on top in terms of maximizing the square footage for our budget.
Also, the optional features that some builders were offering at a higher price as an upgrade, they were standard with Fieldgate – that was key. The house is also 2 feet wider than another builder who we were considering.
Freshta: We were looking at Milton because AJ is opening up his practice there. We wanted to grow as part of the community and be part of the town which you’re practicing in. That was a big part of the decision factor on where we wanted to settle.
It also has a great history – after we did the research, it was good to know that it is a good builder you can rely on.
My parents are very happy with their home as well. Funny thing – the day we went in to sign for the home, my cousin and her husband turned up out of the blue, joined us at our meeting and signed for their home too, and they’re going to live down the street from us – it wasn’t planned at all, it’s so cool!
We had been talking about things but we never mentioned we bought, and then we were there together – it was weird! (laughs)
What particular amenities do you like around the Milton Trails area?
Freshta: The new No Frills grocery store is already there. Rexall Pharmacy is there too, and our bank is right by our house. Then down the street there’s Shoppers Drug Mart, Tim Horton’s, everything you need.
Everything is really close by which is nice – it’s a very short driving trip to most things we need.
Also, I know they’re building a 401 entrance just to the west of our house which is huge. And Wilfred Laurier University will be building a campus south of us too – so within the next 5 years there’s a lot happening there.
It’s a good investment!
Many thanks to AJ and Freshta for taking the time to tell their story. For more information on Milton Trails visit here. If you live around Milton and are looking for a chiropractor, call Hands on Healing at 416-830-1285.
