Married couple Nikit and Sweta Patel bought a four-bedroom house and shared their moving-in day with 50 members of their family and a priest.
The first-time buyers had a Hindu blessing ceremony at their new house at Bellway’s Greenleys Gardens development in Milton Keynes.
“It was traditional house blessing ceremony to purify the space, remove negative energies, and invite positive energies, prosperity and good fortune,” said Nikit, 31, a financial controller. “The priest led the prayers, followed by everyone joining in to sing them – it was a wonderful and joyful experience.
“It was a lovely sunny day, so we had everyone outside in the garden sitting, eating, chatting with the children running about. It was an auspicious day and we knew we were going to be very happy in our new home.”
The couple, who are both 31, had been renting a four-bedroom house in another part of Miton Keynes after getting married in June 2024.
“We had a big fat Indian wedding which lasted for about five days and used up most of our savings,” said Nikit. “We rented a house in Milton Keynes because Sweta, who is an A&E doctor, works at the city hospital and I work remotely so it made sense for us.
“The plan was to give us time to save up a bit of money for a deposit for our own house and to get to see if Milton Keynes was a place where we wanted to settle. After about 6 months we decided we liked the city and started to look seriously for a house to buy.
“We must have looked at about 15 different new-build houses but none of them were right for us. Then Sweta saw online that Bellway were to build a new development at Greenleys Gardens so we went along to the site.”
At the development, where no houses had yet been constructed, the sales advisor Tom showed them plot number 1, which was being built as a four-bedroom Rothwell style home.
Nikit said: “Not being able to properly visualise the house, we went along to Whitehouse Park in Milton Keynes where Bellway were building and saw the four-bedroom Scrivener showhome, which is almost identical to the Rothwell. It was love at first sight. We both fell for it and decided there and then we had to live in that style of house.
“When we chatted to Tom about the purchase, he told us that the home was being offered with an incentive, which came in really handy and we used the money to pay for some upgrades in the house with the rest going towards paying the Stamp Duty bill.”
The couple followed the construction of their new home with great interest.
“When we bought the place there was literally nothing there, just an empty plot of land,” said Nikit. “I went most weekends and watched as the foundations were dug, the first bricks were laid, the walls of the ground floor were completed, then the first floor, then the roof. It was very exciting.
“As we bought off-plan, we were able to choose the style of kitchen, the flooring, and tiling in the bathrooms. We chose some upgrades which included a porcelain worktop in the kitchen and went for extra spotlights and more plugs inside and outside. That felt like we had put a bit of our own stamp on the interior of the house.
“Throughout the house-buying process Tom was always available, whenever we needed a question answering. He was incredible and I would not hesitate to recommend Bellway to anyone.”
Nikit and Sweta moved into their new four-bedroom home in August 2025.
“My favourite space in the house is the living room as it is where we have a big TV and a huge settee and a love seat in the bay window. It is really cosy in there and where we watch movies and TV shows.
“Sweta loves the large kitchen/diner/family area with her beloved porcelain worktop as she loves cooking and entertaining. The room opens up into the back garden through the French doors and the whole space really came into its own on the first day when we had the house blessing ceremony.
“Everyone who came loved the house as much as we do and we feel really blessed to be able to be living here in this wonderful house.”
There is currently a selection of three and four-bedroom new homes available to reserve at Greenleys Gardens, with prices starting at £365,000
For more information call the sales team on 01908 036495 or visit https://www.bellway.co.uk/new-homes/northern-home-counties/greenleys-gardens
First Time Buyer is an exciting bi-monthly glossy which takes a stylish and comprehensive look at all the options available, setting them out in an entertaining and informative way, and helping potential customers navigate their way through what is often a daunting and complex process. We dispel the myths, reinforce the facts and arm the reader with the tools necessary to make their homeownership dreams a reality.
