Pat Philip Bassett and Richard Bassett bought their home in Somerset about ten years ago.

“Thank goodness we didn't have to buy in this market,” says Mrs. Philip Bassett, who is head of marketing at Appleby Spurling & Kempe.

Mr. Bassett is a composer and runs his own business, Renascent Music from their home. The couple have a three year old son, Marcus.

Mrs. Philip Bassett says that their story proves you should never write a place off until you have seen it.

They had just looked at another property which she had hoped would be a good one, but her husband's uncle, a contractor, took one look at it and said: “You can't buy this, it needs too much work”.

A still dejected Mrs. Philip Bassett was dragged by her husband to see another property later that day. She did not have high hopes of finding anything. But as soon as she walked through the door she thought: “My goodness, this is our house.”

She says that they were lucky enough to be the first people to look at it and it had a reasonable asking price.

The property was owned by three sisters who took a shine to Mr. and Mrs. Bassett, so even though other people expressed an interest, their offer was accepted. “It was meant to be,” she adds.

The Bassetts used savings to pay the down payment, and took out a mortgage. Strangely, they were turned down for a mortgage by the bank where Mr. Bassett had held an account since he was a child. So they went straight to the other bank and were immediately accepted. The lending officer at the second bank said “Two professionals - why not?”

“Needless to say, we switched all our accounts after that!” Mrs. Philip Bassett laughs.

The house needed some minor renovations and right now they are considering whether they should build an extension. If they do, it will probably be upwards rather than outwards.

“We don't want to lose space in the garden,” Mrs. Philip Bassett explains.

Piece of the Rock profiles how homeowners manage to buy their property in today's tough housing market.

If you have a story to tell about how you got your piece of the rock, contact Becky Ausenda at 278-0147 or e-mail her at business@royalgazette.bm