New build in surrey(hurst green)

varghesejim

Background-first time buyer. Couple with kid(age 2.5), so schools required. Budget 325(max 350 if there is no option). Need to travel to Canary Wharf for work.

Some new builds came up in hurst green, surrey(marketed for 389K)

https://www.taylorwimpey.co.uk/find-your-home/england/surrey/hurst-green/meridian-square

Well above our budget. But we can avail help to buy, so we could pay 20K and get this property technically.

Schools are rated good by ofsted, but this is not an area which is famous for its schools.

Good connectivity to London.

Oxted/Hurst Green looks a bit sleepy place. That may not be a bad thing though

Property is in an ex-industrial estate(not sure if it is bad)

Any opinions, suggestions about this development are welcome. Thank you

SpiderSkin

This is a very personal opinion: I think Oxted is going down hill and is terribly overpriced. It used to be a lovely little town, but does not have the same feeling anymore. There are also serious talk about transforming the school into an academy, and people are very worried school land will then be sold to more developers.

Many new flats are being built, so the GP surgery is really crowded, and it is getting very difficult to get appointments quickly, and that is a new problem!

Many of the kids from the big houses commute to private school (such as Whitgift in Croydon) you'll see them in the train mornings and afternoon.
It is ok to commute to London (via East Croydon), but I personally never got a seat because the train is always packed by the time it reaches Oxted.

Hurst Green is the poor sister of Oxted, and frankly looks like a council estate. There have been many complaints recently about cars being broken into in driveways, things stolen, it is not very pleasant.

Meridian Square does look very nice, but won't be finished until 2016 (or 2017), so expect a lot of noise for a year or so!

Have you looked between Purley and Caterham (end of the line)? School are ok too, and there are nice houses around Kenley/ Whiteleafe/ Caterham. I just think you get a lot more for your money around there, and Oxted no longer justify the premium people pay for. There are also more on the market, which helps keeping the price a bit lower. You are also still in zone 6, so trains tickets are a bit cheaper too.

You do have a CR postcode instead of a RH one (Oxted), so it depends what it is worth for you!

varghesejim

SpiderSkin wrote: »

This is a very personal opinion: I think Oxted is going down hill and is terribly overpriced. It used to be a lovely little town, but does not have the same feeling anymore. There are also serious talk about transforming the school into an academy, and people are very worried school land will then be sold to more developers.

Many new flats are being built, so the GP surgery is really crowded, and it is getting very difficult to get appointments quickly, and that is a new problem!

Many of the kids from the big houses commute to private school (such as Whitgift in Croydon) you'll see them in the train mornings and afternoon.
It is ok to commute to London (via East Croydon), but I personally never got a seat because the train is always packed by the time it reaches Oxted.

Hurst Green is the poor sister of Oxted, and frankly looks like a council estate. There have been many complaints recently about cars being broken into in driveways, things stolen, it is not very pleasant.

Meridian Square does look very nice, but won't be finished until 2016 (or 2017), so expect a lot of noise for a year or so!

Have you looked between Purley and Caterham (end of the line)? School are ok too, and there are nice houses around Kenley/ Whiteleafe/ Caterham. I just think you get a lot more for your money around there, and Oxted no longer justify the premium people pay for. There are also more on the market, which helps keeping the price a bit lower. You are also still in zone 6, so trains tickets are a bit cheaper too.

You do have a CR postcode instead of a RH one (Oxted), so it depends what it is worth for you!

Thank you. When you say oxted is going down, I have a feeling that that is more of a concern for the people buying million pound homes. Personally this might not be a concern for people like us who are looking to buy a mediocre(by oxted standard) family home. I have checked up the houses in Hurst green and as you said it certainly looks not that attractive. However meridian square looks good for us, but don't know whether it will remain so after many years.

The other places that you mentioned are not cheap! I mean there are cheap houses, but nowhere near as safe as hurst green(again, in relative terms) by looking at the statictics