When Ali Nalwala and his wife Yasmin Habib began looking around for their first home they were horrified – and not just by London’s sky high property prices.
The couple were living in Greenford and were keen to stay in west London but they discovered that most local flats had monthly service charges of around £350pcm.
This extra cost pushed their already fragile finances over the edge and, reluctantly, the couple agreed they would need to look for more value for money beyond the M25. “We were forced out,” says Nalwala.
When he first came across the details of a new development in the centre of Slough he was not particularly enthusiastic about the idea of moving 25 miles out of central London, and away from his family and friends who live close to Greenford, where he and Yasmin were renting a maisonette.
But he realised that with fast trains to London Paddington taking less than 20 minutes, and Elizabeth Line services offering another transport option, he could be back in town in no time. “In fact, with all the traffic in London, it is often faster to travel from Slough,” he says.
In August 2024 Ali, an accountant, Yasmin, who works for a travel insurance company, and their 16-year-old son Jamal, used the shared ownership scheme to buy a 25 per cent share of a two-bedroom flat at Horlicks Quarter.
They put down a five per cent deposit of £19,750 to buy their share of the £395,000 flat, and pay rent on the part they don’t own.
The monthly service charge is a more affordable £250, and gives them access to a gym, cinema, and roof terrace.
“We simply wouldn’t have been able to have this all on our doorstep had we stayed in London, without paying three times the price,” says Nalwala.
In Greenford rent plus bills cost the family around £1,750pcm. Their monthly housing costs now are slightly higher, but Nalwala feels the long term investment makes it worthwhile.
“We only pay a little bit more than what we were paying in rent, but we own our own home,” he says. “Now we feel like we are building a future for our family and that is a great feeling.”
Jamal is now happily settled at college and Nalwala and Habib are satisfied with life in Slough. “We are comfortable and happy,” says Nalwala.
Shared ownership prices at the Horlicks Quarter start from £101,500 abrihomes.co.uk/properties/horlicksquarter
