Friends looking to buy in Exeter - any advice on good areas etc please?

phoebe1989seb

Hi all

We have some friends that are looking to buy a smallish (either a three bed or a two bed/two reception) house in Exeter for their daughter who is hoping to go to uni there this year.

They're not from the area so know nothing as yet about good/bad areas etc and where might be safe for an 18 year old to live.

Obviously at the moment they are just sounding things out and starting to look into the options, but I thought I could see if any of the good MSE-ers could point me in the right direction of areas to look at/avoid like the plague

They would have a budget of around £180k max (cash, no mortgage required) and would prefer somewhere with a bit of character - a Victorian terrace would be ideal I guess. Outside space would be nice but not a huge garden as students are unlikely to have time for mowing massive lawns, LOL!

If anyone can recommend good areas (or even better, knows of anyone looking to sell in the near future) that would be great.......

Many thanks

SternMusik

phoebe1989seb wrote: »

Hi all

We have some friends that are looking to buy a smallish (either a three bed or a two bed/two reception) house in Exeter for their daughter who is hoping to go to uni there this year.

They're not from the area so know nothing as yet about good/bad areas etc and where might be safe for an 18 year old to live.

Obviously at the moment they are just sounding things out and starting to look into the options, but I thought I could see if any of the good MSE-ers could point me in the right direction of areas to look at/avoid like the plague

They would have a budget of around £180k max (cash, no mortgage required) and would prefer somewhere with a bit of character - a Victorian terrace would be ideal I guess. Outside space would be nice but not a huge garden as students are unlikely to have time for mowing massive lawns, LOL!

If anyone can recommend good areas (or even better, knows of anyone looking to sell in the near future) that would be great.......

Many thanks

Many university students live relatively close to campus, in the St James area of the city. Union Road, Old Tiverton Road and Mount Pleasant Road (with side streets) would be a good place to start. There are many period terraces there.

If your friends are looking to get lodgers to live with their daughter, they should keep in mind that the university has been investing heavily into on-campus student accommodation recently, and I would expect that this has a knock-on effect on the demand for off campus accommodation. A couple of student blocks (off campus) have been handed to the council for emergency housing due to oversupply of student housing in Exeter.

Ducky101

Hi, the most studenty areas in Exeter include St James, Newtown, St Thomas, Polsloe. Plenty of victorian terraces in these areas, but due to the high number of students a lot of the property tends to be a bit grotty. Probably not a problem in the short term if you want to have a student rental, maybe more of a problem if you want to sell in a few years to family buyers.

Exeter is generally very safe, but areas with a worse reputation include parts of Wonford and St Loyes. However I'm sure many people would say this reputation is largely unfounded! These areas tend not to be so popular with students.

The more well-to-do areas in Exeter such as Heavitree and St Leonards might be pushing the budget a bit but there are lots of very nice character terraces here, and very close to the uni's St Lukes campus.

If your friends want more house for their money outer areas like Exwick and Pinhoe might be worth looking at. Less character property (especially in Exwick) but still only approx 2 miles from city centre. However it may be a bit harder to attract student tenants who do tend to prefer the more established student areas.

Hope this helps

phoebe1989seb

Thanks so much guys and sorry I've not responded sooner....

Will point our friends in the direction of the areas you both mentioned

Thanks again x