Flexible accommodation, large rooms, plush gardens, fine views and a good price, a winning combination that make one Garmouth home rather inviting.
Somebody is going to get themselves an absolute bargain when they buy Craigowrie House in the village of Garmouth, near Fochabers.
That’s the verdict of the house owner, Anne McCusker who lives there with her husband, Kerry.
Given the size of the cleverly designed modern house, which has six bedrooms, five bathrooms and three reception rooms, and a price tag of offers over £300,000, her prediction is right as the new owner will get a lot of house for the money.
“We had the house built in 2007 from a Robertson timber kit, using local tradesman and an engineer, Mr Hamish Moir,” said Anne, 61.
“We had it built with deeper than average walls and extra insulation so the heating bills are pretty low, the heating is only on three months a years.”
“We are both fans of kit houses. This is the fourth one we’ve had built in the area since we moved to Moray from Ayrshire.
“I’ll be sorry to leave this house but it’s really too big for us now with just the two of us living here; the children have all flown the nest, and living in Nethy Bridge, Aberdeen and Banchory.
“What I will say is that Craigowrie House is an excellent family home but it’s also a house with lot of flexibility and potential.”
The lay-out means it could be used to offer bed and breakfast, self-catering or split use accommodation.
“The design is like two separate houses with a sun lounge connecting them both,” said Anne.
“There’s also two fitted kitchens and two stairways leading upstairs while the integral double garage, which is fully insulated and lined could easily be transformed into an additional sitting room.”
Quality kitchen and bathroom fittings have been carefully selected to give the house a contemporary feel and both have gas hobs.
The detached house is tastefully decorated throughout and thanks to large windows in most rooms, along with French fully-glazed doors in some rooms, it’s lovely and bright.
“It’s so easy to have family and friends staying as we have three bedrooms with en-suite facilities, plus a shower room and family bathroom so there’s never a rush for the bathroom in the morning,” said Anne.
“When the grandchildren were little all they wanted me to do was play hide and seek with them, as the house is perfect for that, but now they’re a bit older they really like staying in a bedroom with their own en-suite.”
Some rooms also have access to a sunny patio and raised decked area, while the house is surrounded by a large, private, south facing, low-maintenance gardens extending to about 0.4 acres with borders, shrubs and fruit trees.
“Because neither of us enjoy great health the garden has had to be low maintenance so it’s easily looked after.
“Because this part of the world enjoys something of a gentle climate it’s been easy to grow fruit trees which provide a good crop of eating and cooking apples, plums and cherries.
“I planted a grape vine last year, and much to my surprise it has lots of bunches of small grapes growing on it this year.”
Within the grounds there’s also a summer house, a fully insulated space with power and light which could be used for a variety of purposes.
“We call it the garden room and often sit out there to watch TV, even in the winter, because it’s so warm there,” said Anne.
From the house and garden there’s also fine views towards a nearby wildlife area and the Moray coastline to be enjoyed.
“We will be sorry to leave the house and Garmouth which has lots going on in it.
“There’s a playgroup, after school club, art club, over-50s club, bowling green, golf course, hotel, shop, Post Office and a new hair salon opening soon.”
The village has an excellent community spirit and by way of a bonus, concessionary salmon fishing is available to Garmouth residents on the River Spey.
The Dolphin Centre at Spey Bay and the beach are only a “stone’s throw” from the property.
Selling agent, Jamie Watson of Smiths Gore said: “The property is beautifully presented and represents very good value for money. It is surprising that it has not sold yet, but this could be due to a certain stigma attaching to the local village of Garmouth which has been in the news due to flooding.
“In fact Craigowrie is well away from the flood risk areas and benefits from all the advantages of a coastal village with the nearby beach and nature reserve.
“Craigowrie house is situated on Cadgers road which is a very private back road in the village which loops round to the minor road to Lhanbryde. This road was upgraded from a potholed track to a good tarred road last year.
“The flexibility of the accommodation is likely to appeal to a wide variety of buyers; with the central sun lounge splitting the accommodation allowing part of the house to be used as a granny annex, B+B, holiday let, or teenagers wing as well as a flexible family house.
“The owners have gone to a lot of trouble to design the house well and have added many decorative touches to give it character.
“The original Robertson Homes kit has been adapted under architects supervision and incorporating additional insulation to create a rather special home.”
Contact: Smiths Gore on 01343 823005.
