Scrummy: Twickenham shared-ownership flats for £100k near the river and the rugby
With its great commuter links, riverside location and affluent market town vibe, the home of English rugby might well be the ideal location for a first-time buy.
Initial impressions of Twickenham aren’t brilliant. The office blocks and flats flanking the station are dreary, while match days can be chaos.
However, King Street and York Road have a full complement of useful chain stores, and independent pubs, restaurants and cafés make Church Street a jewel.
Waterfront pubs such as The White Swan are ideal for spending a sunny afternoon, the gardens of historic Marble Hill House are splendid and the shops, restaurants and open spaces of Richmond are a couple of miles away.
Twickenham is an affluent area, and the average price of a flat in the TW1 postcode stands at just over £460,000 according to the latest data from Rightmove, which puts it beyond most first-time buyers.
But a new launch of apartments in a smartly converted post-war office building will allow first timers to buy into the area for just over £100,000.
ONLY MOMENTS FROM THE HIGH STREET AND THE STATION
One-bedroom flats at So Resi Twickenham, part of Thames Valley Housing, start at £101,250 for a 25 per cent share in a home with a full price of £405,000.
Buyers will need to budget just over £1,135 a month, including rental payments of £442.97, service charge of £160 and mortgage repayments estimated at £532.18.
A 30 per cent share of a two-bedroom flat with a full price of £500,000 comes in at £150,000. Buyers of these larger homes will pay rent of £729.17 a month and service charge of £160. Mortgage repayments are estimated at £788.41, bringing the monthly total to £1,677.58.
“So Resi Twickenham is in an enviable location, just minutes from the high street with its abundance of shops and restaurants as well as the mainline station,” says Esaiyas Mollallegn, head of marketing at Thames Valley Housing.
A selling point of the development is its landscaped roof terrace, which will be shared by residents. The flats have large windows, integrated kitchens and, in some cases, views towards Richmond Hill and Richmond Park, as well as Twickenham Stadium.
It is also great for commuters, being a five-minute walk from Twickenham station, where services take just over 20 minutes to reach Waterloo.
WHAT ELSE CAN I BUY?
The best flats in TW1, particularly those with views of the river, are often priced above the £1 million mark, but first-time buyers can find better value at St Margarets just 10 minutes’ walk away to the east, with its own train station.
A budget of about £400,000 could get you on to the property ladder in some style. Snellers estate agents is selling a two-bedroom flat in an Art-Deco block in The Grove, priced at £415,000. A two-bedroom flat in St Margarets Road is listed with Snellers for £370,000.