Finding the right home involves many different considerations, and some of them involve what’s found outside of your door.
If you were to ask a group of people what they think makes a house a home, you are likely to get a wide range of different answers. Feeling a sense of community is likely to be a recurring theme, and a shared outdoor space is something that can help make you feel stronger connections with the people around you.
This is reflected in how modern homes are being constructed in Ireland, with open green spaces often being part of the plans right from the off. Speaking on the latest episode of the Through the Front Door podcast, Glenveagh Homes Operations Manager Michael Hutton says their Green Care programme is a crucial part of the service they provide for potential home buyers.
“[Green Care] is a team of maintenance guys that we have set up that manage the appearance of our current and historical developments. Back as far as five or six years ago, we still maintain them until the Council take them in charge.
“Also we do a lot of the current developments and all the new sites, all the new houses we’re working on, we maintain all the show villages. And as green spaces appear on the developments, and the estates open up and construction phases move about and people start moving in, my guys move in and maintain them,” Michael says.
The importance of maintaining these green spaces is not restricted to the aesthetics of a given development, as it is a reflection on the level of care provided by the developers. As Michael puts it himself, the older projects often carry just as much importance to home buyers as the new one they are considering moving into.
“I know for a prospect buyer, when they are looking at buying a Glenveagh house, they will often go to an older Glenveagh estate and see how it looks and how it’s maintained and the layout of the place. That’s why keeping the appearance to a high standard on some of our older developments is just as important as our newer developments.
“People looking to buy some of our houses see that we do take great pleasure in looking after our estates,” he says.
Multimedia Ireland · The importance of a well-maintained outdoor space
Planting days
Outdoor space is something that is incredibly important to home owners, both in terms of the freedom it allows and the relationships they can help foster with your neighbours. Michael says this was something that was particularly evident during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It was [apparent] on a personal note, because we were fairly restricted, it was down to two kilometres at one point. I think everybody was making do with what they had, where they had it,” Michael says.
One of the ways in which Glenveagh helps to facilitate more time being spent in shared outdoor spaces is with their planting days. Not only is it a fantastic way to help people find ways to engage with the natural world that surrounds us, but also encourages that sense of community that can be so vital when finding somewhere you want to make your home.
“We’ve ran a couple of residents’ days on some of our sites, and some of them have included planting days that we’ve brought the residents in on what we’re doing. We got the children involved, got some of the residents involved helping us plant the seeds.
“We’ll sow a meadow they can feel part of what we’re doing as well. If they’re looked after, these meadows will be there long after Glenveagh has left construction,” he says.
The team at Glenveagh understands that buying a home is possibly the biggest decision you will ever make in your life. Their aim is to exceed your expectations in every way possible, so to find out more about the buyer journey, visit the website here.
