A COUPLE from Florida are moving to Ryedale after reserving a new home virtually during lockdown.

Ashley Walker, 27, will be returning to his roots in Kirkbymoorside with Venezuela-born and Miami-raised wife Jennifer, 28, and their four-year-old son Luca.

With a second baby due in August, the family were keen to buy their first home in the UK, but thought the Covid-19 restrictions in both the US and UK would mean it wasn’t going to be feasible.

However, they have reserved a new three-bedroom home at Countryside’s Manor Woods development in Kirkbymoorside, with a little help from modern technology and the government’s Help to Buy scheme.

Jennifer said: “Being all the way over here in the US, not to mention being in lockdown, we thought buying a home overseas would be impossible.

“We were so wrong. The virtual process has been faultless and the experience from start to finish absolutely impeccable.

“We’ve now reserved the family home we’ve always wanted in the UK.”

Countryside has seen a rise in online reservations over the last seven weeks with six homes reserved at its Manor Woods development in Kirkbymoorside and 12 in Yorkshire as a whole.

Jennifer added: "Buying a home in the UK has been far more straightforward than it would have been in the US.”

Christopher Penn, regional operations director for Partnerships Yorkshire, Countryside, said: “It’s fantastic to see that Jennifer and Ashley want to swap sunny Florida for the beautiful Kirkbymoorside countryside. We hope they have

a smooth journey to the UK and wish them the best in their new home.”