London leaver: 'A surprise eviction saw me leave Battersea and eventually buy a £445,000 home in Guildford'

Laura Harrison was happily surviving successful a rented level successful Battersea and mightiness person stayed indefinitely had destiny not taken a manus and sent her backmost to the stomping grounds of her childhood.

On the eve of the pandemic, Laura faces a astonishment eviction.

“The proprietor of the level was successful Madrid, and she called and said she truly needed the level back. They were astir to spell into lockdown and she wanted to travel backmost to London,” said Laura. “What prime did I have? I jumped successful my car and went to my mum and dad.”

Like galore different Londoners who took an exit strategy during lockdown Laura recovered herself thoroughly enjoying the quiescent beingness successful Frensham, Surrey, moving from location and spending her escaped clip gardening. She took agelong walks successful the South Downs countryside, went chaotic swimming, and attempted to retrain her parents’ dog.

The determination besides saved her astir £2,500 a period successful rent.

When the satellite began to unfastened up Laura joined a section moving club, and picked up immoderate section friends on the way. She besides reconnected with aged schoolhouse friends.

By the extremity of that twelvemonth Laura, 38, who works successful marina management, felt acceptable to enactment down roots and began location hunting.

The post-pandemic contention for abstraction was successful afloat formation and her archetypal attempts to bargain her archetypal location crashed and burned.

One vendor decided, astatine the eleventh hour, they didn’t privation to merchantability aft all. Then she was gazumped by a purchaser offering much wealth than she could lucifer connected different imaginable property.

“In hindsight it meant that I looked astatine each benignant of spot — precise astute marque caller flats, bigger properties with Georgian charm which needed wholly gutting, and truthful I truly got a consciousness for what I wanted,” said Laura.

Her prime was a two-bedroom level successful a peaceful spot adjacent to Guildford High Street and Pewsey Common, which outgo £445,000.

She moved successful past summertime and has spent the past twelvemonth sprucing the level up by redecorating and putting successful caller floors. Next up is simply a caller kitchen.

Laura’s occupation means she travels frequently. She besides spends a mates of days per week successful London — the travel to Waterloo talks astir 40 minutes. And for a alteration of country from her level she besides uses the Soulspace co-working space.

“I emotion surviving present due to the fact that it is truthful greenish and beautiful,” said Laura. “I americium close by Pewley Downs connected the apical of the elevation and bask the abstraction and views,” she added.

“At the aforesaid clip I tin locomotion down the High Street and I’m close successful the centre of Guildford and I tin beryllium successful London whenever I request oregon privation to.”