It’s Never Too Late To Buy A Dream Home

Not everyone sees their retirement years as a time to downsize and slow down. For Christine and Dennis Simpson their mid seventies have been all about embracing life and making new memories.

The couple recently moved to Wingham in Kent in a bid for a better quality of life after 25 years of living in Joyden’s Wood in Dartford. They had grown weary of the constant traffic and hustle and bustle of living in a London commuter town and longed for the tranquillity of the countryside. 

Despite being keen horticulturalists, the couple were finding maintaining their large garden was becoming too much for them and were keen to free up time so they could travel more and get the most out of their retirement years. 

Christine said: “We explored a number of new build developments in Kent and the surrounding area but everywhere felt too big and impersonal. When we arrived at Fortuna Fields it instantly felt right, there was so much space and greenery and every house looked different. 

“We wanted a four bedroom home with generous living space and a large kitchen for entertaining our children and three grandchildren. When we saw the Penshurst we knew we had found our perfect home.”

Another big attraction was the short distance to the local village, as the Simpsons wanted to be able to walk to the local pub and to the shop for their morning paper.

Unfortunately the path to a new life wasn’t as smooth as they had hoped, as they ended up in a chain of eight buyers when selling their existing home. 

Christine said: “It was an absolute nightmare – we had found the perfect home, in the perfect village but everything depended on all the other people in our chain completing successfully.”

A problem quickly arose with one of the homebuyers in the chain over an issue with solar panels. Fortunately for the Simpsons, not only were our sales team at Fortuna Fields supportive throughout the whole process keeping the Simpsons updated on news of the sales chain but Christine had an added secret advantage as a former conveyancer.

Starting her career as a PA in a legal firm, Christine decided to change course and train as a conveyancer in her late forties. Having worked on large scale projects including Heathrow Airport and Liverpool One, Christine wasn’t about to be defeated by a solar panel issue.

She sent advice down the chain advising that they buy an indemnity policy for the panels and thanks to her expertise things began moving again and the Simpsons moved into their new home on the 24th of March 2026.

Christine said: “I can’t speak highly enough of Louise at Dandara and the rest of the team, they were absolutely incredible. Louise even messaged us with updates while we were on holiday in the Caribbean.”

Now happily settled into village life, the couple say the move has been one of the best things they have ever done. 

“We absolutely love it,” Christine said. “The open-plan kitchen and dining space means we can cook and still be part of the conversation when family and friends visit, and the bedrooms are all a great size for guests staying over. Dennis is loving having a study where he can relax and watch the football. 

“It really feels like the perfect home for this stage of our lives. We wanted more free time to travel but we are enjoying our new life so much that we haven’t actually booked anything yet!”

The couple are already exploring local gardening clubs and are determined to have as active and as social a retirement as possible.

Christine added: “Canterbury is just 15 minutes away so we do have the best of both worlds, a quiet countryside village life with all the restaurants and cultural attractions of a major city nearby. Sandwich is lovely to visit too.”  

Fortuna Fields has a selection of three, four and five bedroom homes with prices from £350,000. A Penshurst like the Simpsons costs from £500,000.