Our homes are often a reflection of who we are and mark every change, chapter and milestone in our lives. The saying 'home is where the heart is' particularly rings true for Pete Reynolds, 62, who spoke to us as part of our Where I Live series.
Each week we take our readers inside a different home in the north west to have a look around, see how they've renovated to make it their own and find out why it is so special to them. For bank account manager Pete, his £135,000 three-bed house in Buckshaw Village, near Chorley means more than most.
Having grown up nearby in Euxton, Pete has moved around through work and lived in Manchester, Berkshire and Wigan before going full circle and moving back to Lancashire last year. After splitting from his wife, the dad-of-four wanted to live closer to home and decided to settle in the transformed village which has some sentimental history to him.
READ MORE: 'I bought a £185,000 six-bed house in Cheshire at 22 - there is a surprising story behind it'
Buckshaw Village is an exclusive residential area with modern housing, tree lined avenues and colourful parks - but it didn't always look that way.
The village was built on the site of the former 400 acre Royal Ordnance Factory, which was used during the Second World War to produce and supply ammunition. The original train station used to transport the arms has been re-invented and now provides access to Blackpool and Manchester.
Today it has a population of roughly 4,000 residents and is known as being a sought-after area, but Pete has a personal reason why he wanted to live there.
"My dad used to work in what was the old Royal Ordnance Factory. The old building still stands at the entrance so living here now brings me back," he told the Manchester Evening News.
"The fact that my dad used to work here and I've seen it change over the years is special. Every time that I leave my house and go pass the old building I give a quick nod to say hello to him. It just feels like home here.”
Pete bought his three-storey mews house for £135,000 one year ago and has a £1,100 monthly mortgage on a five year fixed rate. He has owned around seven houses since getting on the property ladder and laughs at what he bought his first house for.
"I got on the property ladder aged 25 and my first house was £9,000 can you believe it," he laughed.
"I’ve moved around and expanded over the years through family and travelling with work and now I've ended up back here."
Pete, who used to work as a painter and decorator, has renovated the majority of his home himself.
“The house was three years old when I bought it and as soon as I moved in I started putting my own stamp on it. I did one room at a time. I started with the entrance so that every time I walked in it felt like home," he said.
"I did all of the decorating and painting myself, I even renovated all the garden at the back. By doing it myself I’ve managed to cut costs on the labour."
Pete added: "Everybody who comes round to my house walks in and says I’ve got an eye for it. I'd say I've got a very contemporary style but I try not to buy things from typical places.
"For me my home reflects my character and personality. It's important that it does reflect that because I’ve lived in houses before that I've absolutely hated and I've never felt comfortable.
“I’m proud of my home and I love it. It’s my little contemporary gem.”
Giving us a tour around his home, Pete said: "When you walk in you’ve got the entrance with stairs leading up to the first floor. On the ground floor is the open-plan fitted kitchen with a breakfast bar and living area. I didn’t have a dining area so I built a lean-to with a gas fire pit which opens out into a table so even in winter I use that as my dining table.
“Upstairs on the first floor I have a guest bedroom, then there’s the main bathroom and the second bedroom at the front which I use as my office.
“Another set of stairs then leads up to the master bedroom with a walk-in wardrobe. I’ve never had so much space in a bedroom before it's huge.”
Pete says that a home identical to his sold for around £200,000 last month, and the average house sold at around £207,246 in the village over the last year according to Rightmove.
“As it's sought after area I know that when the time’s right, I'll make a decent margin on it," Pete said.
"Ideally I want to live here for five years and then I would love to go off to Italy and retire."
Want to get involved in Where I Live? If you are homeowner or tenant that lives in the north west are you are interested in featuring in our weekly series, please email: phoebe.jobling@reachplc.com.
Sign up to our free weekly property newsletter by clicking here
READ NEXT:
