A Warrington-based Hong Kong property expert is sharing his personal and professional experience to help support others moving to the North West.
Damon Yu, business director of Walk On UK Property, lives in Warrington in a property built by Castle Green Homes. He’s partnered with Castle Green to assist other people from Hong Kong relocating to the North West, including Bridgewater View, part of Daresbury Garden Village.
“In the past few years there’s been a lot of immigration from Hong Kong to the UK, meaning a fierce demand from Hong Kong people for homes in the UK,” Damon explained.
“I’ve been in the UK for four years and have lived in a Castle Green home at Willow Fields in Warrington for three years. I’d decided I wanted to live in Warrington because I have family and friends here. I love everything about living here. It’s a lovely quiet area.”
Walk On UK Estate Agents provides a service to people from Hong Kong, helping them buy and sell property in the UK. This includes landlords looking for investment properties, people who are relocating to the UK or have already done so but want to move home.
“Some people are still in Hong Kong and want advice from a local agent who lives here and is familiar with the area. We have a YouTube channel and can show people the nearby location including shopping area, schools, what the show homes are like and the quality of the homes. We help the find the best house in the UK for them. Some people have already moved to the UK and want us to help them explore their options,” Damon added.
“We bring customers to viewings physically or virtually. We follow up everything in the purchase process including the legal process and home demonstration, then after completion support with any issues.
“Our goal is to help Hong Kong people buy the best possible housing option in the UK, including negotiating with the builder on their behalf.”
Damon and his team will help buyers explore which location and home is right for them.
“Different clients have different demands. For example, if they have a family of young children they will want to know if there’s a good school nearby. There are two good primary schools near Bridgewater View,” Damon added.
“It’s not far from Warrington, which has a big Hong Kong community. I always recommend people to move to the Warrington area, over Bolton, Wigan or Manchester, if they can afford it. There are a lot of Hong Kong restaurants in the town centre where you can have dim sum and noodles, there’s a Hong Kong style supermarket, Hong Kong basketball and football teams.”
People living in Hong Kong tend to buy apartments but when they move to the UK purchase a house. The homebuying journey in the two countries is different, along with construction methods and standards.
“We encourage people moving from Hong Kong to the UK to buy a new home rather than an older property because of the warranties. Plus, they might find that an older property is too cold and costly to heat so they want a new home with a higher EPC rating to help keep bills low. Because I own a Castle Green home I have confidence in the build quality. It’s very important,” Damon said.
He explained that buyers are better protected in the UK.
“In Hong Kong once you have chosen a new home you need to pay a 10% deposit up front, even before searches. In the UK you do the land searches before you pay the deposit,” Damon said.
“It’s a much better system in the UK but people relocating don’t know that or don’t understand the process. We are here to support them and help them make a smooth move.”
Castle Green Homes sales director Sian Pitt said: “We’ve welcomed a number of buyers from Hong Kong to our developments, including Bridgewater View and Willow Fields. Having the support from Damon and the team at Walk On UK Property who can share personal and professional experience is a real benefit to our homebuyers who are relocating from Hong Kong. Working with our teams, they’re able to guide purchasers through the homebuying process from start to finish, including helping them settle into the community.”
Current availability at Bridgewater View includes a choice of four-bedroom detached homes, priced from £454,995.
For more information about the development see www.castlegreenhomes.uk/our-developments/north-west/bridgewater-view
