Location help-Burnham/Britwell area

xbecca18x

Hi Everyone,

My bf and I are looking at buying our first home. We currently rent in West London but looking to move further afield to buy. We have narrowed down our search to Burnham due to the links into Paddington and the crossrail arriving in a couple of years, plus thats as far as our budget stretches!

Having explored the area by foot for a couple of weekends we like the area but are hearing some bad reports on forums, however, these were from a few years ago. Just wondering if they are still true or if the area has improved. We have found two properties that we like around Long Furlong Drive. Both are lovely properties but now we are having doubts.

Does anyone know or live in the area who can help please?

Thanks

bobbymotors

Britwell is b****y awful....avoid at all costs.

Cakeguts

Are the properties that you looked at cheap compared to similar properties in other areas of Slough. If they are that is an indication of not many people wanting to live in the area. Houses are cheap if they are difficult to sell. One of the reasons why they may be difficult to sell is because of where they are.

Chanes

I see your worry, the speed of the London market is frightening, I lived in Shoreditch a long time ago and they were selling really cheaply then and look at how much it costs to buy a house there now! The absolute best advice I have heard is to buy the worst house in the best area you can afford. Thinking of Shoreditch back then people said it was a bad area maybe those areas you are looking at will jump the way Shoreditch did? But who can second guess the housing market?

nubbins

I used to live near here for a while and I would absolutely avoid it. The area might look alright on a drive or walk on a Sunday afternoon but to put it bluntly Britwell is a crime ridden sh$$tehole, honestly you do not want to live there.
What about a bit further out on the Crossrail line, Maidenhead or towards Reading. There are some slightly dodgy parts of Reading but plenty of nice parts and compared to Britwell/Slough its a lot lot better.

xbecca18x

Thanks everyone for your replies!

The 2 houses near Britwell area about 20k cheaper than similar places which did make us think is it something to do with the area.

What kind of crimes makes it so bad? Yes we did walk around it in the afternoon so it looked fine, such a shame it is not really like that by what people are saying.

Unfortunately our budget only stretches as far as Burnham, anywhere else on the future crossrail is out of reach.

Are there any nice areas within a mile of Burnham station that you can suggest? and likewise any other areas to avoid?

Thanks

Caroline_a

Ever watched Road Wars? Most of that happens in Britwell! Avoid, avoid, avoid!

countingbeans

I actually live in Burnham currently. I would give the same opinion as above on Britwell, it's not a very nice area, you will see that some estate agents market it as "Burnham borders" ! I wouldn't recommend buying there as I think you're not going to gain much value in those areas.

North Burnham is nice (heading toward Beaconsfield), but this is more than a mile from the station. Taplow is nice, but this is more expensive, but you might find looking at Cippenham (just past the bridge by Burnham station) as there's quite a lot of new build developments around there and you could still walk to the station.

ReadingTim

xbecca18x wrote: »

Unfortunately our budget only stretches as far as Burnham, anywhere else on the future crossrail is out of reach.

Are you sure about that? The reason I ask is that I was in exactly your position 11 years ago, and was looking around the Slough area as its reputation meant it was rather reasonably priced (that and I was working there). However, following a somewhat flippant comment from my Mum, I had a look at Reading, and found comparable properties and prices - prices may rise between Burnham and Reading, but once you're into the town of Reading, they fall again. The downside is the increased time and money it takes to get back into London, which can make commuting draining.

I would add that Slough, Burham etc are all pretty much dormitory towns - there isn't too much in them for leisure, shopping etc, whereas Reading is a place in its own right (it's even got a John Lewis, what more could one want?!?), so you won't find yourself needing to get in the car or go into London for shopping, entertainment etc, which you might if you lived in Britwell etc.

nubbins

xbecca18x wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your replies!

The 2 houses near Britwell area about 20k cheaper than similar places which did make us think is it something to do with the area.

What kind of crimes makes it so bad? Yes we did walk around it in the afternoon so it looked fine, such a shame it is not really like that by what people are saying.

Unfortunately our budget only stretches as far as Burnham, anywhere else on the future crossrail is out of reach.

Are there any nice areas within a mile of Burnham station that you can suggest? and likewise any other areas to avoid?

Thanks

Lots of drugs and violence mainly and rude boy youths who remind me of the inner city pants-round-uranus london kind who would have no remorse in shanking you for a fiddy note.

I would agree with Countingbeans have a look at Cippenham, its not great but its far better than the Britwell. I also agree with ReadingTim, I would look at somewhere around Reading, Paddington in 25 minutes, great links M4/M25/M40/M3 and Reading itself has loads of jobs, great shopping (The Oracle), bars and restaurants as well as nice surrounding villages and towns like Sonning, Wokingham, Pangbourne etc. I think you may be able to find something in your bracket.

xbecca18x

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and opinions. We have viewed a couple in Cippenham so its good to know that area is better. I think we will consider Reading a bit more as well as the prices seem to be similar to Burnham. We will both be commuting into London each day and I work in Paddington which is why we have been looking on that train route (plus its getting crossrail).

Hopefully something comes up that we like and can afford!.. Thanks again