Good builder in Reading

[nomita]

HI I would be a first time buyer in UK and is looking around area to buy house.My criteria is
Near to London- as we both work
Good private school- my son would be 6 soon and want him to be in a private school
Good grammar school for him to go once he is that age
As with my limited knowledge I felt reading is suiting all my requirements
Pls let me know if there are other areas
I want to check how are bloor home builders as people told me to go with taylor wimpy or Bellaway.
And do builder negotiate ??

Is there a reason you want to buy a new home? Reading has a few well-established areas (1930’s, 1950’s) that are quite desirable and hold their value. Might make sense to rent initially while you move over and buy?
FYI have never bought a new build myself so can’t advise on that

Yeah we are planning to move there next year beginning just inquiring on school part for my kid .But new homes I feel are less clingy

What do you mean by "clingy"? You are probably better choosing the school first and working around logistics.

Reading has a large hinterland, with lots of small towns and villages around it, so have think about whether you're looking to live in the town itself or on the edge.

The main rail station is in the centre of town - 25 mins to Paddington. However there are other stations feeding into Waterloo, so it depends which part of London you're heading into.

One of the concerns us locals have about the new build estates is that there isn't the local infra structure to support them, eg no shops, schools, GP surgeries etc, so it might be better to concern older properties in established communities with those amenities.

Whether you decide on train station first, school or locality, please bear in mind Reading a a big traffic problem, so if you decide to go for Early, catching the train into Waterloo, don't think St Edwards Prep, over towards Tilehurst is a good fit as a school. At school drop off times, you'd be looking at an hour's round trip. Keep it local for your own sanity if nothing else!

The demand on the local grammars is intense, seriously intense. Do not assume your child will get a place - have a plan b!

I was looking for shinfield area. And for school I guess first I have to be in catchments area. The one more school in slough does not have catchment area so that was my plan B.We are coming from London so I guess traffic should be fine .

Private schools do not use catchment areas but state grammars usually do, but may take some of the highest academic performers from outside.

Yes I have a bit idea ... we want private till he can get into grammar... as per my knowledge Reading one takes catchment and one in slough I guess doesn’t ... but can anyone tell me how are blood homes and is shinfield good area ???on right move I see just blood and couple of Taylor W. Is my thought process for reading correct or we can get some other area near London with better options for my criteria

Traffic may be even worse in London but bear in mind public transport outside London is poor so you can’t easily avoid the traffic chaos (Reading has buses. Not too bad if you live in the town but they are few and far between if you are some way out or in a nearby village/small town). Reading School (boy’s grammar) is very hard to get into. No idea about builders - I wouldn’t buy new build personally.

Have you looked at Buckinghamshire (they still have grammars I believe, and fast trains to London).

Slough is a long way from Reading - don't even think about it. I know England looks small on a map, but trust me when I say you will seriously regret living in Shinfield and putting your child in school in Slough. The M4 is a nightmare.

Shinfield has a lot of new building going on, but it's one of the areas I referred to - no new shops, schools, GP services, anything basically

I strongly suggest you visit the area and get a feel for the distances involved. There are also companies who will help with relocating - sorting out possible schools, housing etc - they would be useful. Lots of people do travel from the Reading area into London, but there are other towns too. Can the company you will be working for in London make any suggestions for you or even put you in contact with a relocation specialist

I will check in my co .... we are in London renting a house and planning to settle down(buying) ....some one told me that there is a plan for cross rail from shinfield and that area is going to grow hence we thought of shinfield .Yes early next year we are planning to visit the area(i have visited earlier but just the town centre) to get the feel.Thanks for the suggestion it is that reason I posted here .I feel the sales people give wrong information , they said in next 1-2 year this will be fully developed area

any clue how is bloor homes builder ???WE are looking for new homes and we are able to find them in shinfield only

Have heard of Bloor homes, not specifically in Reading though. Tbh new homes tend to be a poor investment as the developments can go on for years and supply exceeds demand. As pp pointed out promised infrastructure can be slow to appear. You may find more scope for negotiation on smaller developments, early in a large scale development or when they are almost all sold. Given shortage of materials and workforce at the moment it is possible anticipated completion dates will slip. Also look out for whether the properties are free or leasehold and any ongoing charges.

Thx a ton. I will lookout for these things and will try and find small scale development .But I heard if old house has issues there is no warranty in case of new home there is 2 year warranty by builder and 10 yr additional .So we were going for new homes .

I used to live in Arborfield which isn't far from Shinfield. I'd strongly advise against moving anywhere around there - the traffic is the worst I've ever experienced and with 2000+ new build houses will only get worse.

You get a survey on older properties to get an idea of any maintenance issues. The new build guarantees are not comprehensive and can be difficult to enforce, so not necessarily better.

The Crossrail or the Elizabeth Line plan for linking Paddington through to Reading, has been in the pipeline since my parents moved to east London 40 yrs ago. Local estate agents have been "bigging" it up in the last few years but basically - don't hold your breath. They're saying 2022, but they said 2018 and nothing much happened.

Please don't get too swayed by warranties on new houses - I know some don't think they are worth they paper they are written on. There's also a lot of weird legal stuff linked with the ownership of the land the house is built on, which is causing a lot of problem cost-wise and when people come to try and sell the house. I've no knowledge about specific companies - maybe try a general Google search to look for reviews? There seem to be a lot of building developments in and around Reading so I really think the best things would be to come and spend some time here - drive round, look in the local paper (Reading Chronicle) etc.

Thx Will do the same thx for all the advise ... It is so valueable

i also want to ask if i buy a old house and in case there are leaks and issues which we found after moving is there any security on that ... like till 1 -2 year of sale

i also want to ask if i buy a old house and in case there are leaks and issues which we found after moving is there any security on that ... like till 1 -2 year of sale

That's why you have a survey of the house before you buy - to check the quality of the building. But if something happens after you have bought the house, then no, there is no warranty.

What we are trying to explain to you, is that it's a trade off between the nice new house, with in theory not structural problems and no local amenities, and an older house (doesn't have to be 100s of years old, could be 10-20 years old - lots of property in that bracket in Reading) in a community with schools, shops, leisure facilities, GPs and dentists.

As someone who has lived in and around Reading for 29 years and escaped a few miles down the road to Newbury. It is a night and day living experience. You can breathe, get to London and whilst there isn’t a grammar school - the main stream schools are the best in the country.

Thanks a ton DPotter ,LIZS, Cherryana.This is indeed a great help.10 yrs old should be good , what I heard people buying was 60-70 yrs old houses so was in doubt

Older houses can be better value for money and certainly in this area you're much more likely to get a bigger garden.

Don't right off older properties - look at a few. You never know you might be tempted!

HI We just visited the area in shinfield and spencer wood.I was checking there is not much state school near the development , incase we may need that... the OAK one has needs improvement.
Want to know both of us working in London and our shift to reading is only for buying a house in budget and my sons schooling (Grammar school cachement area),are there any other location which suit these needs.We are still preferring new houses

We've tried to explain Momddun that in restricting your search to brand new properties you will find just this very problem in the Reading area - no local amenities, eg schools, shops, doctors' surgeries etc.

There may be some new build on very small sites more into the centre of Reading, eg backfill developments but I'm not personally aware of any.

I think you need to spend some more time here in Reading with an estate agent, getting them to show you newish properties in places such as Early, Wokingham etc. Just a flying visit to Shinfield and Spencers Wood isn't going to get you what you want. Although I believe Shinfield does have a very well thought of Ladies cricket team!