Nicole enjoys quiet nights in at her new apartment after 12 years living in house shares

Nicole Farrell is enjoying having her own space in her own apartment, following 12 years living in house shares in London.
The 34-year-old estate agent has bought a one-bedroom apartment at Bellway London’s Dacres Wood Court development in Forest Hill, having spent the past five years renting a room in a four-bedroom house in Balham.
She said: “There were four of us in the house and one day I woke up and thought, ‘This is crazy. I am over 30 years old and still living like a student. This needs to change.’
“I got on with everyone else in the house but I had had enough of getting in from work and having to wait to start making my dinner because someone else was using the cooker or postponing taking a shower because the bathroom was occupied. It just wore me down and frankly, at my age, it felt embarrassing, to be honest.
“The whole idea behind house-sharing was to save up enough money for a deposit on my own place and I had reached that point where I had enough put by to start looking.”
Nicole began searching the internet for a new-build apartment within her range of up to £350,000 but it was a pal who helped put her on the road to Dacres Wood Court.
“One of my friends told me that her partner was working on site at this new apartment development at Dacres Wood Court in Forest Hill and the location sounded perfect for me,” said Nicole. “My office is in Peckham and Forest Hill is an area I know well as I have sold homes there and have friends who live there – and is 20 minutes closer to work than Balham.

“I was incredibly excited and made an appointment and went along to chat to the sales manager Agnes. I had three main criteria – I was looking for an apartment which was on the second floor or above for extra privacy, one with a south-facing balcony and I wanted to be able to choose my own flooring and colour scheme.

“To my delight I got all three and reserved a one-bedroom apartment on the second floor. Agnes was wonderful and incredibly efficient and personable. We had fun looking at the plans online and because I was reserving off-plan I got to choose the colour of the kitchen cupboards, the flooring throughout and the tiles in the bathroom.
“Being able to make choices about how the interior of the apartment looked was great because it allowed me to put some of my own personality into how the place looked. As the build progressed, Agnes was brilliant and took photographs and videos and shared them with me so I could see how my apartment was coming along.”
Nicole moved into her new £352,000 apartment in November 2022.
“Buying this apartment is the best thing I have ever done in my life,” said Nicole. “The lay-out of the apartment really works for me because rather than the interior being lumped together in one big space, the kitchen flows into the dining area which then leads seamlessly into the living room and out onto the balcony, which I can’t wait to use in the summer. This design makes it seem like there are three distinct areas, which helps make the place feel bigger.”
Nicole said owning her own apartment in London has had a dramatic effect on her.
“I am much more confident in everything that I do,” she said. “It has had a really positive effect in my personal and professional life. I feel happier and brighter and much more optimistic about the future.
“In the evening after work, I used to go out or pop over to stay with friends to avoid being stuck in the bedroom at my house share but now there is nothing I like more than a quiet night in on my own. I love snuggling up on my sofa and watching some reality TV, sipping a glass of white wine, which I have chilled in a fridge that I don’t have to share with three other people. It’s total bliss.”
The final two-bedroom apartment is available to reserve at Dacres Wood Court, priced from £499,995.
For more information call the sales team on 020 3993 3943 or visit https://www.bellwaylondon.co.uk/new-homes/london-partnerships/dacres-wood-court.