I'd be choosing Fleet over Basingstoke every time. Bear in mind that even though Basingstoke has the better train service you'll probably get a seat easier from Fleet which can make the commute more pleasant. I used to get on at Brookwood at one time which was the last place you could just get a seat. From memory Fleet is only three stops out from Woking and then it's fast into Waterloo anyway.
Spec me a Commuter Town
- Thread starter HangTime
- Start date
Wildcard - Staines.
- Close to M25 then M3 or M4 for Basingstoke - you'd be against traffic on the commute on the M3
- ~8 trains per hour during rush hour 30-40 mins into Waterloo
- Large Town by Riverside plenty of nice restaurants, vue cinema, waitrose etc.
4 bed in your budget doesn't give you much choice (3 houses and 2 of them are in egham) but worth a look.
- Close to M25 then M3 or M4 for Basingstoke - you'd be against traffic on the commute on the M3
- ~8 trains per hour during rush hour 30-40 mins into Waterloo
- Large Town by Riverside plenty of nice restaurants, vue cinema, waitrose etc.
4 bed in your budget doesn't give you much choice (3 houses and 2 of them are in egham) but worth a look.
You're onto a winner with Fleet. I work just round the corner and it's a nice little place especially if you're planning on having a family soon.
If you're not then Reading would be a good bet, and the property market there is booming due to the Elizabeth Line (Corssrail) extending out.
If you're not then Reading would be a good bet, and the property market there is booming due to the Elizabeth Line (Corssrail) extending out.
Associate
We were in a similar position a few years ago when considering places to move to which were within easy reach of London. We pretty much went all round the M25 looking at potential areas to put down roots. In the end we settled on Fleet, which was only 45 mins from Waterloo on the train and a similar drive down the M3 to the in-laws who live in Ealing.
We live in Church Crookham on the new Crookham Park development, which is a 10 minute drive to Fleet station. There are lots of new homes being built here at the moment. Here's the link to the Taylor Wimpey development page: https://www.taylorwimpey.co.uk/find-your-home/england/hampshire/church-crookham.
I commute from Fleet to Waterloo, and some trains will get you there in 45 mins. The fast trains from Fleet call at Farnborough, Brookwood and then terminate at Waterloo. It would be much easier to get a seat at Basingstoke I'd imagine, as it's a main terminal and you'd have a wider choice of trains. The trains at Fleet have become a little more packed over the past couple of years due to new developments in the area which have attracted more people.
We have friends who live in Basingstoke and have visited numerous times. There are lots of shops, restaurants and a cinema in the Festival Place shopping centre, so lots to do. Given the choice of Fleet or Basingstoke, there's no comparison. Fleet is a lovely town and the wider Hart district is great for families, with lots of outdoor places to visit. Basingstoke feels very built up.
Fleet is a lovely place to live and the people are generally all very nice and polite. There's a real community feel to living round here.
Fuzzb3k, what were your experiences with Taylor Wimpey for that development? I actually phoned a couple of the developments earlier this week to get a feel for what stage the developments (Woodlands/Oaklands) were at in terms of projected completion dates etc for available plots. How much were you able to negotiate off the list price?
My gut feeling is probably I should look for something secondhand nearer the station, but I haven't totally discounted it.
My gut feeling is probably I should look for something secondhand nearer the station, but I haven't totally discounted it.
Associate
To give you an idea of timescales, we originally reserved our plot in April 2013 and were given a completion date of September 2013. We didn't actually complete until 22nd Dec 2013 due to various delays in the build process (weather, wrong staircase! etc.). It wasn't an ideal time to complete with Xmas just round the corner, so Taylor Wimpey gave us a cheque for a months rent to cover the overlap. A lot of our neighbours completed on the same day, so it seems that the delays were down to general issues. I'd factor in a 2 month delay on any date they quote you.
We used the NewBuy scheme because we didn't have enough saved for a deposit on the property we wanted, which meant that we only needed a 5% deposit initially. A consequence of using such a scheme is that Taylor Wimpey weren't allowed to offer any discounts. Our mortgage provider, Halifax, were pretty strict about this. In the end TW paid for our kitchen appliances (which I bought separately) by discounting the price by £2,000.
If you weren't using a scheme such as NewBuy or Help to Buy, then you could probably negotiate a better discount. I've heard of people negotiating discounts of 10 - 20% on other developments, but the level of discount differs from development to development depending on supply & demand. This development is quite popular and new plots tend to sell quite quickly, so that might count against you when negotiating. TW would probably be more inclined to offer you a discount in the way of paying for carpets, upgrades & appliances rather than discounting the price, because reducing the price would adversely affect the price of newer plots.
There have been some fundamental systemic problems on this development which has resulted in an organisational change within TW. The new organisation appear to be committed to resolving snags much faster than before, and initial impressions are good. We still have some snags from over 2 years ago that have yet to be resolved, despite constantly chasing TW. A new build will give you plenty of headaches trying to get all the snags resolved.
Overall I'd advise you to trust your gut and buy something a little older rather than going for a new build, unless you need to use one of the mortgage schemes (NewBuy, Help to Buy etc.).
Soldato
I've cashed in my chips. 33% increase on my house in 3 years!
Moving out to the sticks (Goring).
Had another poke about in Fleet at the weekend. Have ruled out Church Crookham as it is just too far from the station and there was a slightly iffy looking estate of older properties (ex-council/military?) near one of the developments. Ancells Farm / Pondtail / Elvetham Heath seem more suitable to us I think.
Town centre still feels a bit meh and rundown (why are there empty shopping units if the town is so popular!) but not a deal-breaker if the key criteria are met. Just doesn't seem to many redeeming features really (dull slightly worn feel / architecture, not much independents, has neither historic small town charm like my hometown, nor modern slickness like where I live currently).
Town centre still feels a bit meh and rundown (why are there empty shopping units if the town is so popular!) but not a deal-breaker if the key criteria are met. Just doesn't seem to many redeeming features really (dull slightly worn feel / architecture, not much independents, has neither historic small town charm like my hometown, nor modern slickness like where I live currently).
Have you thought about Welwyn Garden City or Croxley Green/Rickmansworth....i live in the former, but grew up in the latter. House prices are higher in the latter, but to live there it is really nice, well rounded, great links to london on the Croxley Line to Euston way or Rickmansworth to Marleybone. Roughlty 30-40mins.
Welwyn goes into Euston within 25mins
Welwyn goes into Euston within 25mins
Soldato
What about Farnham then? Direct train to London, change at Woking to go other places? Only 5 minutes from Fleet but has a bit more charm?
My nanna lives in farnham and i try to get down from cumbria at least once or twice a year, she lives in weybourne which i believe is near or part of farnham. Lovely place to live, i went to london when i was last down on the train and it wasn't to painfull
Associate
Mortimer/Bramley? Obviously between Basingstoke and Reading but both have train stations. With the Green Park station coming in the next year or two the rail link into Reading will be much better, and you are very close to the M4/M3/A33.
Soldato
I'll be commuting from Godalming when I move on from my current job.
Soldato
Guildford 
Guildford
lovely town, imagine it's blooming expensive to live.
Soldato
Caversham is nice. You could go a little further west. Pangbourne and Goring are really nice, especially Goring. Just bought a house there as well, though I am biased as it is where I was brought up.
Caporegime
Come to Milton Keynes, 35 minutes to London on the fast train and plenty of different types of houses to choose from. Nice little villages pocketed around MK which feel rural but are only 10 minutes from the main land.
Man of Honour
its not the cheapest if you want any space, local villages like shalford, farncombe etc are a little cheaper (not much) but still have good transport links.
Caversham is nice, except during rush hour when you're trying to get over the bridge.....
Soldato
- Joined
- 11 Sep 2013
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Ah-hahahahahahahahaha...... Oh, u bein serious?
I would say *parts* of Caversham are nice...
Bramley has one of the loveliest bakeries around, right next to the station. I was up there this very lunchtime with one of my contractors. Try the sausage and onion baguette!
Try the steak pasty too, but you'll need someone to share it with!