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Couple made the move from London to Milton Keynes for greener pastures
August 2021
We’d never considered moving out of London until the pandemic changed our priorities – now we have more than we could have asked for!
Waseem Al-Jaf and his wife, Rasha, decided that 2020 was the year they would purchase their first home. Having saved for their deposit whilst renting a one bedroom apartment in London, the couple began to look at Help to Buy apartments in the capital that fell within budget. Living in London their whole lives, Waseem and Rasha had always enjoyed being so close to their work and the busy London lifestyle, however once the pandemic hit, the couple began to work from home permanently, and realised that their priorities had shifted.
Waseem explains “It always made sense for us to live in London. We’d been there our whole lives, and had never considered moving due to it being such a practical location for work. We had discussed maybe looking at Watford, but when we started working from home, we branched out and decided to look slightly further afield to see how much more we could get for our money.”
Waseem and his wife purchased a large three bedroom semi-detached house at L&Q’S Saxon Reach in Milton Keynes, using a 20% Help to Buy equity loan to secure the perfect place for them.
“We started researching areas north of London with good transport links into the capital, and discovered that Milton Keynes was perfect for us. It’s such a modern town, and the grid system means you can be anywhere in 10 – 15 minutes maximum. It’s also a very multi-cultural place, and really does offer the best of both worlds with its huge variety of parkland and green space as well a buzzing city feel. We decided Milton Keynes was the town for us, and booked viewings at a few developments to see what ticked our boxes.”
With some key areas in mind, Waseem and Rasha found Saxon Reach and booked a viewing with the sales teams, as well as some viewings elsewhere. Upon comparison, the couple decided to put an offer down at Saxon Reach, determining that the development offered more for their money.
“We knew that we wanted to live somewhere with good access to the M1, and focused our search on Wavendon, Broughton and Brooklands. We viewed Saxon Reach and instantly fell in love, but decided to view a few other developments before finalising our decision. After viewing different properties, we realised the other homes were incomparable to Saxon Reach, given the inclusion of so many appliances and finishes at no extra cost.
These perks were a no-brainer to us – without having to pay extra, we would have a turfed garden with a shed, integrated appliances throughout the whole kitchen, carpets and quality flooring, as well as an extremely spacious house - we just couldn’t find this anywhere else. We knew that Saxon Reach was the place for us, and put down our offer.”
Located on the outskirts of Milton Keynes, Saxon Reach will ultimately deliver 225 high quality homes in the form of one to five bedroom homes available through Shared Ownership and Help to Buy, creating a thriving new district as part of the wider Glebe Farm development area.
When discussing the buying and moving process, Waseem explains his positive experience with L&Q.
“We were really lucky to be able to view both of the show homes with social distancing measures in place, and once we decided to put our offer down, we actually got to see the property that would become our home. As we weren’t buying off plan, our house was almost finished so we knew exactly what we were moving into. The sales team were extremely supportive, and even helped us finalise a furniture pack which saved us a lot of money when moving in!”
When asked what their favourite features of their new home are, Waseem remarks, “The master bedroom on the top floor of our home is nothing like we’d seen anywhere else. It’s much bigger than the other master bedrooms we had viewed, and is accompanied by an ensuite with waterfall shower which is more than we could have asked for! Every room is so spacious, as is the garden, which we can’t wait to use once summer comes around. The house is also really well insulated so our bills are much lower than we’d previously been paying!”.
Waseem continues, “It’s also really exciting to be part of a new growing community, as we were one of the first houses to complete. Our neighbours are all so lovely and welcoming, and it’s great to see the progression of the site now that we’re here. The park will be open soon, and there will be a school here next year, and we can’t wait for Saxon Reach to continue to grow.
Concluding on his new life at Saxon Reach, Waseem can’t believe he hadn’t considered moving out of London prior to the pandemic.
He explains “We feel so much healthier in Milton Keynes – just having this access to so much green space is incredible. We’ve had family come to visit, and my sister in law and her husband actually loved our new home so much that they’re currently in the process of buying their own home here.
“That says it all really. We’ve finally found a home that we love in an area that we love, and we’ll absolutely be staying here for the long term.”
