Please help - which house would you prefer (SW London/Twickenham area)

[karmi2010]

I have already posted a question just on the location of the houses, but did not get many replies :( so really hoping for some opinions here! :) :)

I am looking to buy a 3-bed house in St-Margarets/Twickenham area with a very limited budget (for that area) of around 500K. There isn't anything in that price brackets in St-Margarets/Twickenham, so I have started looking at the borders of these area.

There are 2 houses on the market now, please please give me your opinions which one you would prefer and why (or none of these really :) ) - I am going to throw myself into a really huge mortgage commitment, so this isn't an easy decision for me.

1 - First house on sale for 550K but is on the market for quite a while now, so hopefully the seller will agree for a lesser amount.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-32372220.html

2 - Second house just got on the market at 470 but there is an open day coming, so it may go for more than that.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-32852436.html

I am not from this part of London so would really really appreciate any comments about the above locations and generally about good areas around where I can still buy for around 500K. Transport is very important consideration (commuting to City of London), and schools will be important in the future (not kids yet though, and we are CoE so would consider CoE schools in the future).

Thanks a lot in advance!

[dietcokeisgreat]

Hiya,
I'm afraid i know nothing about the areas at all so can't help there. The town house looks very nice, as long as stairs aren't a problem. You get more space, more loos, low maintenance little outside space and it is all in good condition. You might well be able to make the kitchen - conservatory area more open plan which would be great with kids.
No option for expansion though.
The other house is significantly smaller, with no upstairs bathroom which i think is a real negative. It does have a big back garden though, so possible expansion opportunities in the future.

Not sure if that is very helpful, just my initial thoughts.

[karmi2010]

Many thanks dietcokeisgreat, this is helpful!

[Madcatgirl]

Friends of ours live in east molsey which is lovely, so I had a look in that area.

My friend use the train from surbiton or Kew, but that's to central London. There is underground at Kew.

There's some nice houses in your budget.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-32009997.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-32740128.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-48566882.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-48063887.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-47051888.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-32479938.html

[karmi2010]

Many thanks for your suggestions Madcatgirl! I really appreciate them but unfortunately for several reasons (too long to explain) I need to be within London (i.e. the postcode needs to be a London postcode). Although the houses do look really nice :)

[Nyborg]

The first house is south of the A316 which makes a big difference in terms of property prices. (South is cheaper). It's 10 mins walk from the centre of Twickenham but there are shops closer by including a small Sainsbury's. The traffic on the A316 can be awful so I'd be sure to check for noise when you view.

Schools - you'd be in catchment for Trafalgar Infants which is fine, or maybe for Archdeacon Cambridge - not a long walk but I'm not knowledgeable about its catchment so check.

Nearest station for commuting is probably Whitton though a brisk 15 -20 min walk would have you at Twickenham for fast trains to Waterloo.

The second house is in Isleworth which I don't know well but it's usually significantly cheaper. Chief things to check here - plane noise and (importantly) smells from Mogden.

The second is in Islewoeth

[Nyborg]

Don't know what happened to the last line there - sorry.

Re postcodes - they're both TW (TW2/7) - is that "London"?

[Nyborg]

And sorry - first post should say NORTH is cheaper. If you're thinking long term, your local secondaries are Waldegrave Girls (amazing) and Twickenham Academy (not so amazing, for now at least).

[BorisIsABitOfAGargoyle]

Both look lovely, I prefer the town house though. And it's in a much better location, especially given it is closer to the airport so will probably be noiser.
But these don't have a London postcode which you say you need?

[Solasum]

The second house isn't really 3 bedrooms, as presumably you would want to turn one of them into a bathroom upstairs? The first one is much nicer, and I love the garden office. I don't know either area at all, though. Quite a big difference pricewise!

[Solasum]

The first house is also much nicer inside to my eye, I would find it much more liveable as is, though the bathroom tiles are not to my taste. Would you consider a project house?

[karmi2010]

HI, thanks a lot all for your opinions!

Nyborg - you comments abount the area and school are invaluable, thank you very much!

Boris - they are London postcodes for what I need (they are within zone 6 -one of the reasons I need to be within London is that my parents will be living with me for the next couple of years at least and they have Freedom Pass which they will loose if they are not within London zones)

Solasum - the price difference is what makes me really think here to be honest! anything above 500K is a real push for me :(

[Sundaedelight]

My preference is the second house, looks less squashed than the first? I like the fact that it is semi detached and offers lots of scope for future expansion, if that's what you are want. However, I do love town houses and this one is certainly very attractive too. The downstairs bathroom would be difficult with a young family.

[camembertlover]

The first house is nicer I think. I know earlier posters suggested Isleworth but I wouldn't recommend it as it's not that nice an area and the planes going over head are a real nuisance [I know I lived there for a year!] I have to say though that for your budget you will struggle for something much bigger than you have found in the Twickers/St Margarets area - maybe you need to look at flats as you can get some much bigger flats than some smaller houses. Or maybe look at Richmond or Surbiton? They have good train links to London. Good Luck I know how stressful it can be buying a house in London - we just bought our home in Ealing and it was so stressful!

[Nyborg]

By all means look at Surbiton but I think Richmond is out of your budget. Perhaps look at Whitton?

[karmi2010]

Many thanks Sundaedelight - I really like the possibility of expansion in the second house too!

Camemberlover - thanks a lot, I agree the first house is nicer and Isleworth is probably slightly less good than Twickenham, the main problem is with the price ... I have a flat now, so really want a house :)
And congratulations on buying a house in Ealing! I would love to buy there, just not really an option within my price range either :) I actually need to be able to go to Ealing easily, hence looking at Isleworth/Twickenham area (which are only 20mins to Ealing) and not Surbiton/Kingston/New Malden...

[karmi2010]

I have been thinking about all these a lot, and below what I think are positives/negatives:

1 - First house (Twickenham/Whitton border)

Negatives for this house:
close to a motorway A326 (although it isn't on the motoway, rather on the side road to it, and there is almost no noise as there are houses in front of it actually on the motorway)
very small garden (very narrow (3.7m - 12'') and only extends to 26''(8m))
lounge and kitchen on different floors, and no access to garden from lounge (although can possibly use conservatory instead)
no scope for extension in the garden but could be possible to do another bedroom in the loft.
also a real push for me as I would struggle to pay even 530K and the seller is unlikely to go for less.

Positives:
close to Whitton station (0.4miles) and reasonably close to Twickenham station (0.9mile or buses 5mins)
nice looking house
nice looking street
no need to do any work on the house
can get a lodger (for the master bedroom with en-suite)

2 - Second house (St.Margarets/Isleworth border, but probably more Isleworth)

Negatives for this house:
a bit far from the station (0.7miles to St.Margarets station or bus 5mins)
fairly close to sewage works (so theoretically could be smell)
house is currently smaller (but huge potential for extension)
will need to do a huge extension at some point (although no need to do anything right now)
house less nicely looking and on a less nice street
can't get any lodger

Positives:
large garden
after extension the layout will be much better and can do what is "perfect" for us
possibly can do a 2-storey extension and then the house will be much bigger
cheaper and much easier to afford at the moment (as below the tax threshold)

Did I forget to consider anything?

Or shall I just wait and see if something else comes on the market? None of these 2 houses is perfect for us, but very little comes on sale within our price range in these areas, and we have been looking for a while
Thanks a lot again!!

[HaveYouTriedARewardChart]

I don't know the areas at all OP but if location is not a consideration I would definitely go for house 2 if you're thinking of a family. You'd have spare money to extend or convert and have the garden space to allow it. It has a lovely big garden and that makes all the difference with kids. It could be a great family house.

[karmi2010]

sorry, the formatting in my above post looks a bit weird, don't know why...

many thanks Nyborg, I am looking at Whitton too :)

[HaveYouTriedARewardChart]

Sorry - I meant if location were not a consideration - because obviously it is!

[karmi2010]

Many thanks for your opinion, HaveYouTried!

[bilbodog]

I may have missed something but isn't it one hell of a commute from Twickenham to City of London? Have you tried looking to the north/east of London as there are a lot of up and coming areas there and you might get more for your money if you try that? I always think that Victorian Houses are the best buy in London because they are so solidly built with good size rooms - but I am biased to old houses. Good Luck!

[karmi2010]

Many thanks for your reply Bilbodog. I know the commute is not ideal, but all my friends and family are in West/SW LOndon or London, and I am currently living in a flat in Putney, so no so keen on moving north/east of London, although it would have been certainly cheaper...

[EATmum]

I live in Molesey and love it, but if you need to be further in is Surbiton on the cards? It's definitely in the zones.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-32556936.html
It's a fifteen minute commute by train into Waterloo from Surbiton, and there are loads of trains through there. And it's a really nice area.

[karmi2010]

Hi EATmum, many thanks! Surbiton certainly is, except that it's nothing there on the market that I like and can afford at the moment, all houses are either far from the dtation, too small or too expensive :(

[ChippyMinton]

When looking at Whitton, also look at properties in the LB Hounslow on the Whitton borders. There's some weird local postcode snobbery in that area which sometimes causes houses to be cheaper if they are LB Hounslow rather than LB Richmond. Still within the London borough so eligible for the Freedom Pass.

Hanworth?