SWAPPING THE STATES FOR SURREY

On the brink of celebrating their first full year at Broadoaks Park, Angelique and Ameer reflect back on their reasons for choosing their Octagon home.

Ameer comments ‘We started our British life over six years ago, descending from the States into leafy Barnes in South West London. Here we rented a flat and discovered the English ‘village lifestyle’ was rather to our liking.

I had been transferred to the UK by my company, a major software specialist, and after several years of settling in we decided it would be sensible to put down roots and look for a permanent home of our own.’

Angelique continues the story, ‘As we started looking for a home, we rapidly realised that we could get a lot more property for our money outside Greater London, so our sixteen-month hunt began, ending happily in Surrey.’

‘It was a county we liked, both for its green surrounds and proximity to central London – essential for my work’ adds Ameer.

He continues, ‘By chance, at the beginning of our search we spotted Octagon’s Bishops Row development in Fulham, just across the River Thames from our Barnes home. We liked what we saw, both in terms of style and quality and it was there we met Octagon Sales Manager Sandra Casali.

Fast forward 18 months and we came across the new Broadoaks Park development in early 2019.  It was meant to be – we met up with Sandra again as she was the lead sales agent at the development. She suggested we consider West Byfleet, where the train service into Waterloo was speedy and frequent and there is a first-class Waitrose alongside plenty of other local shops. 

Minutes from West Byfleet town centre, Broadoaks Park is Octagon’s flagship development, comprising 125 homes ranging from new-build family houses to converted and restored two-bedroom apartments.   

Ameer comments, ‘We visited the site at the early foundations stage, but a fans of Octagon, knowing their exemplary quality and reputation, we swiftly decided to reserve a plot in the first phase.’

‘Our first choice of a four-bedroom terrace quickly morphed into our eventual purchase, a six-bedroom detached house – a decision we have not regretted.

Characterised by an abundance of greenery, with immaculately landscaped grounds across the estate and private gardens accompanying each property, Ameer and Angelique have settled in comfortably to the rural setting.

‘I am already heavily into serious garden planning’, comments Angelique.  ‘We have a large plot, so there is plenty of scope for my rather ambitious design. Meanwhile we are taking our time on furnishing and embellishing the interiors; we’ve enjoyed working with the Octagon Interiors team led by Rachel Hall. 

‘We are already utilising practically all of the rooms, so this house and layout really does suit us. The ground floor office/study was of course essential for Ameer, as his base is here at home. Then we have created a yoga and fitness room, which we use every day, and upstairs we have our cinema/TV room, as we love movies. The super large open plan living, dining and kitchen is perfect for our style of entertaining, and along with our own Principal Suite we still have enough bedrooms and bathrooms for friends and family.’

Commenting on their move-in, Ameer mentions, ‘Obviously, like at the beginning of all new developments and as one of the early bird purchasers, we encountered a few snags and challenges, but the Octagon Client Liaison team led by Ken McDonald and Laura Armstrong were excellent at listening, sorting and perfecting.’

Ameer concludes,

‘Every month a new tranche of residents moves into Broadoaks Park, and it is becoming a great village community. It attracts a wide range of individuals, some with families, some retired, and some like us, professional couples, settling into a home where we expect to be spending a major part of our lifetime.

All in all, buying a new home at Broadoaks Park has been a really good experience, masterfully led and supported by Sandra. Her confidence in Octagon’s build and design quality is so evident, it took very little persuasion and time for us to commit to reserving our house – so this was a good move from everyone’s point of view, but especially ours.”