MEET the Hong Kong family who were able to purchase their new home in Warrington online without even having to step foot in the property or even the country.

Rose and Wilson Cheung had been preparing to emigrate with their two young children to the UK since last September and three months ago their vision became a reality when they moved into their four-bed new build at the Willow Fields development in Great Sankey.

And they were able to access a ‘bespoke customer portal’ provided by housing development company, Castle Green, that allowed them to view and purchase their home online.

“We bought the house online, which is very common in Hong Kong, without seeing the building,” Rose explains.

“We’d been preparing to move since last September, searching for houses, cars, schools – everything. We moved here three months ago – the main issue was for a better education for our children who are eight and five. There are lots of good primary schools in this area. The children love it here – they enjoy their new life more than they did in Hong Kong.”

This new online development comes at a pivotal time for the housing market in Warrington, as there has been an increase in Hong Kong nationals relocating to the town over the past year, with many families drawn to the great schooling on offer.Warrington Guardian: The Cheung family moved into the house three months ago and have settled into life in Warrington.The Cheung family moved into the house three months ago and have settled into life in Warrington. (Image: Newsquest)

And since then Warrington has seen a growth in Hong Kong businesses opening around the town centre, with several eateries and its first Hong Kong supermarket opening over the span of this year.

Sales director for Castle Green, Caryl Russell explained how the new online portal has ‘revolutionised’ the way the company sells homes both to people in the area and overseas.

“They can watch the progress of their home, virtually test out different kitchen choices and other features and won’t have to worry about misplacing documents as everything is stored online,” she said.

Rose and Wilson said they were ‘adjusting well’ to their new home life in Warrington and were happy with the service they received from Castle Green.

“The 3D virtual tours on the Castle Green website meant we could explore the Willow Fields development before it was built and go into the house we were buying and look inside, plus the Willow portal made it easy for us to complete the purchase of our new home from Hong Kong.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to say a massive thank you to the local people who helped us through and also all the people working in Castle Green,” Rose added.