Moving to Falkirk?

spendapennyortwo

Looking for ex-council house, as they tend to have large bedrooms.

Realbairn

spendapennyortwo wrote: »

Looking for a family home, 4 bed, budget 100k, close to schools. can drive so no issues over travelling to the nearest supermarket by car. not too fussy if a train station is nearby or not.

Have heard Falkirk has the lowest rates of council tax in Scotland? Could be wrong...

You'll be lucky to get a 4 bed property for that price, more likely to be 3 beds max. Perhaps area's such as shieldhill, California, Slammanan in the braes will be nearer your budget but they are as the area describes 'up the braes' so hills to get there and a bit harder to get down from if heavy snow. other areas are Grangemouth, Camelon, that may come into budget. Try local estate agents such as slater Hogg, RGM properties, Caesar howie, Marshall wilson, or you could try looking in the falkirk herald site.
Not sure how true the council tax thing is, never really compared with other area's.
Hope you find something.

scottishminnie

You should be able to get what you need in your budget in either Denny or Bonnybridge reasonably easily. I went to school in Denny and whilst it has some drawbacks - not least the town centre which is scheduled for demolition and was awarded some award for the worst eyesore in Scotland or something - it also has some advantages. The travel links are good, you are pretty much mid way between Glasgow and Edinburgh and all the major motorways connect around the area.

There a brand new High School and plenty of choice of primary schools in the town and you can still get an NHS dentist there too (at the moment anyway) so it may be worth considering.

spendapennyortwo

*Realbairn* I am all too aware we won't get a very nice area for this budget, but we'll get the space we need. If things don't work out we are in a fortunate position to be able to lease the next property (if there's lots of probs with ASB!) and then buy again...

Will check out these areas mentioned, and the local EAs. Ta

Realbairn

spendapennyortwo wrote: »

*Realbairn* I am all too aware we won't get a very nice area for this budget, but we'll get the space we need. If things don't work out we are in a fortunate position to be able to lease the next property (if there's lots of probs with ASB!) and then buy again...

Will check out these areas mentioned, and the local EAs. Ta

Its not so much not getting a nice area, just the price of property and 4 beds are few and far between. The area's mentioned aren't all that bad but are more likely to be nearer your budget (places like Polmont/Linlithgow are nice but a tad expensive for what you get. I lived in Grangemouth for years and whilst it is a petrochemical area, its flat - so great for cycling, running etc, it has a good park for wee ones, good sports facitlies, not too bad schools, and good links to motorway etc.

spendapennyortwo

It's true, there aren't a lot of ex council four bedroomed houses on the market just now across the Central Belt. We have been looking for around six months now (not rushing into anything!!) but struggling to find one at the price we are willing to pay. Most in our current area are all well over the £130k mark (for a 4 bed) and we only want a small mortgage - not willing to have a huge mortgage (which usually means a new build in most cases around here) because we also want to enjoy family life without constantly worrying about paying off a huge mortgage IYKWIM?

We looked at a house in Grangemouth but it was pokey and didn't have a loft (which is what we need). I wouldn't mind moving although really annoyed it has come to this as I never imagined being totally price out of our area

slbhill

spendapennyortwo wrote: »

we are not interested in buying a new build. we have looked at several different developments and the bedrooms are tiny in the majority we've viewed. You don't get a lot of house for your money.

Aren't they pokey! No storage either. A lot of them seem to have paper thing walls too. Shiny but insubstantial! (Yes I know I am overgeneralising )

I take it you've looked at rightmove.co.uk? We moved to Falkirk last year & there are very few properties not listed on rightmove. I did a quick search and there are a dozen-odd 4 bed properties within a few miles of Falkirk under £100k. Denny, Bo'ness and Grangemouth are possibilities, as well as Hall Glen which has already been mentioned. Cumbernauld has a lot of cheaper stuff, although it's into North Lanarkshire instead of Falkirk.

As far as council tax goes, Falkirk is one of the cheapest but the difference is tiny compared to the house price. For band D you're looking at:

• Falkirk £1070
• Stirling £1074
• North Lanarkshire £1098
• Fife £1118
• West Lothian £1128
• Edinburgh £1169
• Midlothian £1210
• Glasgow £1213

(this is a pretty random selection of the central belt! Also it's just council tax, doesn't include the water & sewerage fees which get added on top) £140 difference between the most and least expensive - around £10/month, and proportionally less for cheaper properties. Compare that to the difference in rent or mortgage for a similar property in Falkirk or Edinburgh for instance :eek:

Realbairn

spendapennyortwo wrote: »

It's true, there aren't a lot of ex council four bedroomed houses on the market just now across the Central Belt. We have been looking for around six months now (not rushing into anything!!) but struggling to find one at the price we are willing to pay. Most in our current area are all well over the £130k mark (for a 4 bed) and we only want a small mortgage - not willing to have a huge mortgage (which usually means a new build in most cases around here) because we also want to enjoy family life without constantly worrying about paying off a huge mortgage IYKWIM?

We looked at a house in Grangemouth but it was pokey and didn't have a loft (which is what we need). I wouldn't mind moving although really annoyed it has come to this as I never imagined being totally price out of our area

Have you tried looking for a good 3 bed with a decent loft that you could maybe convert either partially or fully, or even a 3 bed that could be extended out the way. I agree with you that most council houses have good sized bedrooms, seen a couple of new builds that are not bad but as you say prices well out there. Property market is rubbish just now not much moving at all. Good luck with it all though and hope you get something sooner rather than later x

Yogibear

there is no way you will get a 4 bedroomed house in the central

belt for £100,000,maybe an ex-council in a rough area,you wont get a

3 bedroomed

in Livingston unless it`s an ex-council but you must be wary of the

different housing schemes,I lived in West Lothian for 23 years hated it

pm me if you want to know why,thank God we are back in

...........Edinburgh:T

spendapennyortwo

Having lived in Fife my whole life (not the nicest towns I'm referring to!) I definately know about 'rough' areas - makes Livingston look like a dream town to live in *yogibear*!!! We're realistic enough to know that we may not end up moving to a nice area, because the budget is low. Still searching but market definately moving very slowly just now, I agree *realbairn*.

Thanks *slbhill* for the price comparisons in council tax, just goes to show even Fife is high considering most of it is a dump!!