Opinions on Aberdeen!!

mrs_T

If you're going to be working on the north side of the city or city centre I'd recommend Bridge of Don as a great place to buy a house, raise a family (good nurseries and schools) and it's handy for the beach and all the facilities there. The great thing about Aberdeen as opposed to the central belt (where I grew up) is the access to the coast and countryside. Feel free to pm me for information if you are looking at the area. The good thing is you're moving in the right direction, you'll get more house for your money up here.

dwight-van-man

As before, thanks for all the advice! Mrs T, Bridge of Don looks really good for us, had a drive round on our flying visit. Also looked at Daneston and Mannofield as well as some smaller places in Summerhill and Old Aberdeen. Location for work isn't too much of an issue as I'm field based so will be covering the AB postcode area, but I work from home so we need a minimum of a big three bedroom place, ideally four since the in-laws are threatening to come up to visit every other weekend...

Also, does anyone have an idea of how offers over prices relate to valuation and actual sale prices? I've been told its not as bad as Edinburgh but hey - it couldn't be much worse!!

Miss_Kitty_Fantastico

we moved into our new flat last february in Aberdeen City and we had to pay 20% over the asking price - so had to pay more than the valuation .

oh's brother just bought a house a few months ago (in the shire) and it was 30% over.

depends on the area i think - we originally looked in peterculter (posher place i believe) and a flat offers over £53K went for £86K (crazy)

i couldnt believe the difference in price from Fife :eek:

lesleydejager

unfortunately the prices here have gone pretty mad in the last few months...I work in Bridge of Don and two of my workmates are currently looking for houses there; one for a 2-bed and one for a 3-bed. On Friday the one looking for a two bed offered £147k on a house that was offers over £99k and was only 3rd out of 16 bids!!
Mannofield is a lovely area but very pricey as in the 'West End'. I would avoid Summerhill are if you are worried about local schooling...Old Aberdeen is tricky...the nice parts are probably listed buildings so a nightmare to do any work, other areas can be pretty run down as a lot of students living in rented accomodation there for the University.
If you liked Bridge of Don I would suggest also having a look in Balmedie, a bit further out of town but beautiful dune beaches and a world-class golf course set to be built there by Donald Trump which will increase your property price in years to come.

tamarto

I wouldn't say mannofield was a particularly good area either

lesleydejager

Also, estate agents here have a nasty habit of under-pricing their offers over price to generate interest in the property. Hence, the house I mention above probablay valued at £135k or thereabouts.

If you don't already know this, https://www.aspc.co.uk list all the properties for sale through solicitors in the aberdeen and abdnshire areas. If you don't HAVE to live in the city limits you get a lot more bang for your buck in the shire and less people competing for the same house...check out Inverurie and it's smaller neighbours Kintore and Oldmeldrum, all lovely country towns within 20 miles of the city and good road and rail links.

Maximillion

I lived in aberdeen for a few years, miss it big stylie. if your looking for a house reccomend http://www.aspc.co.uk/ it's up to date and covers everywhere - log in and save a search for whatever you are loking for. They email you everytime a match comes up. Good luck, envy you a bit, Abz gets a hold of you - I went for a long weekend in 1999. Only left two months ago :rotfl:

lesleydejager

tamarto wrote:

I wouldn't say mannofield was a particularly good area either

I thought the Great Western Rd / North Deeside Road corridor was paved with gold!

tamarto

lesleydejager wrote:

I thought the Great Western Rd / North Deeside Road corridor was paved with gold!

It's not i was thinking of somewhere else sorry oops:embarasse

Mattjimf

lesleydejager wrote:

I would avoid Summerhill are if you are worried about local schooling...

There's nothing wrong with Hazelhead academy (nearest secondary), and Fernlea isn't too bad as a primary school.