Where to live near Heathrow?

Errata

reaprr wrote: »

Does anyone know what it's like around Southall?


The new build that really caught my eye was The Primary as it is only 12 minutes drive from Heathrow airport, parking is available, and the houses look nice.

Anything I should be concerned about?

I know Southall very well. There is so much to be concerned about I honestly don't know where to start - I wouldn't want a worst enemy to live there.
The developer must mean 12 minutes drive from LHR by helicoptor!
Have you looked at Uxbridge? Northolt?

reaprr

Errata wrote: »

I know Southall very well. There is so much to be concerned about I honestly don't know where to start - I wouldn't want a worst enemy to live there.
The developer must mean 12 minutes drive from LHR by helicoptor!
Have you looked at Uxbridge? Northolt?

Oh dear well it looks like Southall is off the table! What exactly is wrong with the place - or is it just that it's very crowded?

I haven't actually 'looked' at anywhere yet, my job doesn't start until the start of next month so I'm going to be lodging with family (they live in Iver Heath) at the beginning whilst I check out the areas mentioned in this thread.

Does anyone know of any local new builds in a nice area?

grifferz

reaprr wrote: »

I haven't actually 'looked' at anywhere yet, my job doesn't start until the start of next month so I'm going to be lodging with family (they live in Iver Heath) at the beginning whilst I check out the areas mentioned in this thread.

As you can see opinions differ wildly. All we can really do is give you ideas. A lot of people wouldn't live in Feltham, but I've found it a decent compromise for ~12 years, yet I wouldn't live nearer Hounslow town while others would. Then some suggest Southall while others advise against.

You say you will initially stay with family and check out areas; that seems like a really good idea. I also think you should prepare to rent for at least a year in whatever area you decide to try first just to check it's really for you.

I don't know about you but for me, while a lot is about location, a lot is also about where you make friends and other factors like that as well. You may have to just see how it goes.

jetgirl_99

Morning!
I work at heathrow too and lived in Colnbrook for a year, lovely little high street, can be a bit of pain when the 81 bus blocks the road! Used to take me 15 minutes to the staff car park. Was paying £850 for a gorgeous 2 bed flat in a converted coach house that had gated parking and gardens. Also lived in Slough, I'm not a fan of slough but it was handy for work, again about 25 minutes to work through town, but cippenham and burnham would be about the same straight down the M4
Looking to buy now and areas of choice for me would be Addlestone/chertsey/weybridge. Bit more civilised than slough (no offence to anyone living in slough!) and only about 30/40 minutes up the M25 to the airport

Errata

Your relatives at Iver will be able to give you a very clear picture of what Southall is like.
Why do you want to go for a new build? Wouldn't this, that's had all its wrinkles ironed out, suit you? http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-37615435.html

reaprr

jetgirl_99 wrote: »

Morning!
I work at heathrow too and lived in Colnbrook for a year, lovely little high street, can be a bit of pain when the 81 bus blocks the road! Used to take me 15 minutes to the staff car park. Was paying £850 for a gorgeous 2 bed flat in a converted coach house that had gated parking and gardens. Also lived in Slough, I'm not a fan of slough but it was handy for work, again about 25 minutes to work through town, but cippenham and burnham would be about the same straight down the M4
Looking to buy now and areas of choice for me would be Addlestone/chertsey/weybridge. Bit more civilised than slough (no offence to anyone living in slough!) and only about 30/40 minutes up the M25 to the airport

Thanks! It's always good to hear distances in "time" rather than "miles" as I don't really know what to expect in terms of traffic.

Errata wrote: »

Your relatives at Iver will be able to give you a very clear picture of what Southall is like.
Why do you want to go for a new build? Wouldn't this, that's had all its wrinkles ironed out, suit you? http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-37615435.html

How strange, I was looking at that exact listing not too long ago! That is very much the type of house I would be interested in.

The reason I was interested in a new build is because of this new scheme where the government will lend 20% of the house value interest free for 5 years and you only need a 5% deposit.

Right now I have virtually no deposit saved (graduated uni, lived abroad for a while and got paid pennies, then found it very hard to find work when I returned, been working at minimum wage for the last couple of months). This job has a pre tax salary of 30k so I should be able to afford a basic mortgage. My concern is that it looks like renting might actually end up costing MORE than a mortgage which to me just seems like burning money!

The only criterion of the scheme is that the house needs to be a new build.

grifferz

reaprr wrote: »

This job has a pre tax salary of 30k so I should be able to afford a basic mortgage.

Not sure where you live now, but £30k isn't a huge salary for the South East and some of the areas you have listed as being interested in are quite pricey.

reaprr wrote: »

My concern is that it looks like renting might actually end up costing MORE than a mortgage which to me just seems like burning money!

I know what you mean - makes me sick the amount I've spent on rent the last 10 years and am only now able to afford to buy. But don't underestimate how much the flexibility of being able to move away from a bad choice is worth.

If you buy a new build in an area you come to hate you might not be able to get out of it for 5+ years. Renting for a year doesn't seem like a bad deal to avoid that risk in my opinion.

reaprr

grifferz wrote: »

Not sure where you live now, but £30k isn't a huge salary for the South East and some of the areas you have listed as being interested in are quite pricey.

Yes you're right, that's why I only said a basic mortgage. Based on the calculator on this site it said I should be able to borrow between £99k-£122k (obviously I know other factors come into play than just salary so just using it as a rough guide).

grifferz wrote: »

I know what you mean - makes me sick the amount I've spent on rent the last 10 years and am only now able to afford to buy. But don't underestimate how much the flexibility of being able to move away from a bad choice is worth.

If you buy a new build in an area you come to hate you might not be able to get out of it for 5+ years. Renting for a year doesn't seem like a bad deal to avoid that risk in my opinion.

Yeah that's a very good point. I've also read that new builds are notoriously difficult to sell, because who would want to buy second hand if there are new plots still available! Also, the scheme should be going for a few years yet so there isn't really a rush.

As you say I hadn't really put a value on the flexibility of renting. I guess I will look at renting for the first year and see what I think.

I've got a long list of places to check out, and places to avoid so thanks for the help everyone :money:

jamie11

One more point for Feltham, you can get the airport 'bus directly from the station (the station is a direct connection for Heathrow) I think it's first stop is Hatton Cross. Pretty quick too.

I'd vote for Feltham, I lived in Rochester Avenue for many years, I still have property on Bedfont Lane. I can't call it cheap though

Errata

Places to avoid: areas that are notorious for renting out 'sheds with beds' eg Southall, Hounslow
If you need to save more deposit cash, there will be plenty of LHR workers looking for housemates, which will be cheaper than sole renting and will also get you a bit of a social life start.