Manchester recommendations

Jo_King

I was hoping that someone here might be able to give me some advice.

I'm going to be moving to Manchester in April for a new job. I'll be partly home based, but would like access to the University area - though I've got a car, and am happy to use public transport.

So, I'm looking at buying my first home (gulp). The bank is willing to lend me £140,000, I actually want to buy something at around £90,000, and I've got a £12,000 deposit - hopefully £14,000 by then. Can I get something decent for that?

I don't need to be particularly central. I'd like 2 bedroom, because I'll be working from home sometimes and need an office. I'd love a wee bit of a garden, even if it's tiny. I'm not loud, not a clubber, not posh, have no children and no other half. I just want something cosy in an area where I feel safe.

At the moment I'm looking at Prestwich/Whitefield area, but I'd be very, very, very grateful for any suggestions. I don't know Manchester at all. Ta.

monty-doggy

Your looking in an expensive area.

I'd recommend heaton Mersey (I used to have a beautiful little flat there overlooking fields and trees), stockport, cheadle, sale, there is good and bad everywhere but I've lived in stockport most of my life and love it. Very close to lots of open spaces, national trust parks, good shopping at Trafford centre and Manchester and easy access with motorways and public transport trains etc.

If you need any more info just ask

cte1111

Where in Manchester will you be working? The commuting time across different parts can be huge and definitely something to consider.

In the areas that monty has suggested, your £90k wouldn't go very far at all. I think you'd struggle to find a 2 bedroom house with a garden in a cosy, safe area for that price. If you could go up to the £140k, you would have a bit more choice.

silvercar

If you want easy access to the uni, I would go south rather than north. Have a look for places where the tram will reach soon to get bargains, rather than where it is now.

If you do want north, Radcliffe is cheaper than Whitefield.

monty-doggy

There are plenty of first floor 2 bed flats in sk2 area under £90k

If you want a house looking like a terrace for example

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/18015503?search_identifier=ff24d7898564fc5bd94a51e320cfdc5b

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/29206783?search_identifier=71844e235b65e0d2579ff2cdcb9f13aa

Excellent value with cellars

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/28860117?search_identifier=71844e235b65e0d2579ff2cdcb9f13aa


http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/28500343?search_identifier=71844e235b65e0d2579ff2cdcb9f13aa

V_Chic_Chick

If you want easy access to the uni, then consider the Wilmslow Road corridor - it's the busiest bus route in Europe, all the buses go towards the uni and town. Only problem is that there are too many students.

Chorlton !!! Hardy is nice - full of academics from the uni, though you'd have to compromise somewhere on price or number of bedrooms.

Other than that - look at places along tram routes. Though there isn't a tram stop at the uni, you could get off at Market Street / Piccadilly Gardens / Moseley St and then get on a bus from Piccadilly Gardens straight to the uni.

Jo_King

Thanks for all the messages.

Job will involve a lot of travelling around the North West, for which I'll need the car. I'll be working at home sometimes, and working in central Manchester sometimes (Northern Quarter and Uni area), but probably only one or two days a week.

I'll have a look at Stockport. I'm hoping to have a drive around on Saturday or Sunday to get a feel for some neighbourhoods. Any thoughts on Levenshulme or Droylsden?

Going in completely the opposite direction, I've seen a lovely 2 bed in Gorton, a 10 minute walk from the train station. It seems a very affordable area which makes me think it must be awful!

monty-doggy

As I said there is good and bad everywhere. Personally I wouldn't live in Gordon or levenshulme although you do get more for your money! (Reasons!)

Stockport is lovely. Great moor, heavily, hazel grove, offerton (even the estate isn't particularly bad), woodley,Hyde although that's going a bit further out.

A drive is a good idea, and if you'd have a flat rather than a house you'll have loads of choice in this area.

Droylsden is ok. Borders Ashton under Lyne. Traffic can get horrendous though as Manchester city stadium is nearby.

Madmel

I grew up in Manchester and met DH when he worked at the uni. He chose to live in Heaton Moor [probably quite expensive now] as he prefered either to cycle into the uni or he could use the train.

Basically around Manchester, the south and west tend to be better thought of than the north and east of the city, but within those areas there are variations. My sister owned a house close to Gorton in Belle Vue and whilst it was cheap and convenient, she was burgled 3 times and finally moved out to Didsbury then to Heaton Moor. As monty-doggy says, there are some really good areas of Stockport.

Is there any point in perhaps renting for 6 months so you get a feel for the area without committing to a house-purchase? If it means that you move elsewhere after 6 months, I would see that as money well-spent in that it prevented you from buying somewhere that you later came to regret. HTH

MickeyDaMouse

Lots of decent priced properties in Manchester, but there are plenty of areas to avoid like the plague! Sadly these tend to be the places where the decently priced new build properties are shooting up with little or no deposit required.

As a guide, avoid the following areas,

Moston
Harpurhey
Collyhurst
Gorton
Levenshulme
Openshaw
Bradford
Newton Heath
Cheethamhill
Mosside
Stretford
parts of Salford

The above are very high crime areas and seem to attract a lot of people who are new to the area and looking for cheap houses that are commutable to the city centre. Sadly they buy the place and then realise their dream home is quickly turning to a nightmare due to the high amount of crime in the area.

The best way I found to live or work in Greater Manchester is to commute. Buy somewhere on the outskirts where there's a lot less crime, a lot more greenery and generally a better way of life. Don't buy within the Manchester area. You'll enjoy lower insurance prices, less chance of being a victim of crime and you can still get to work without a problem.

Manchester has a fantastic train network, there's the tram that's always expanding and the busses aren't too bad either. There are also plenty of park and ride schemes about and you can of course cycle as the area isn't overly hilly.

I'm speaking from experience here. I moved to Greater Manchester some years ago. I avoided the above areas and bought in a place that many would say is ok. We got burgled, we had two cars stolen, there was an incident with a young boy (around 10-13) chasing kids with a knife in the playground near our house, the schools locally weren't up to much and there were constantly kids on off road bikes riding around the place as they pleased.

I was fortunate enough to be able to sell my place, which is another thing you can struggle to do in certain areas as many of my mates are now finding. I moved straight out of Greater Manchester and to a more peaceful area that's still within a reasonable driving distance to Manchester. The difference on my quality of life however is HUGE. No more crime, nice neighbours, we never have to call the police and it's bliss.

If you are set on moving to the area however make sure you post your general areas up here first. I am sure many of us can advise before you buy. There are some real problem areas that if you buy there you will be stuck there for many years with an unsellable property and high crime rates.

MickeyDaMouse

Jo_King wrote: »

Thanks for all the messages.

Job will involve a lot of travelling around the North West, for which I'll need the car. I'll be working at home sometimes, and working in central Manchester sometimes (Northern Quarter and Uni area), but probably only one or two days a week.

If you're working in those areas you have a choice of paying extremely high prices for parking in the public car parks, finding a contract space to save money or just using public transport to cut the cost. There's little parking in these areas and what there is will be priced high. People often park in the outer city area and either walk or bus to these areas to save cash.

Jo_King wrote: »

I'll have a look at Stockport. I'm hoping to have a drive around on Saturday or Sunday to get a feel for some neighbourhoods.

Can be expensive, but there's a reason, many places here are nice. Bredbury isn't badly priced and is a nice area worth a look.

Jo_King wrote: »

Any thoughts on Levenshulme or Droylsden?

Levenshulme - avoid! Droylsdon, it can vary. It still suffers from a number of burglaries due to it being near to Openshaw. I know people living in new builds there who are constantly having to keep watch on their cars and homes due to a regular visit to their new estate from people living nearby. It's not as bad as many of the other areas, but try to move more to the Tameside side of it rather than the Manchester side if possible.

Jo_King wrote: »

Going in completely the opposite direction, I've seen a lovely 2 bed in Gorton, a 10 minute walk from the train station. It seems a very affordable area which makes me think it must be awful!

AVOID GORTON! I cannot say this enough. This area is incredible for crime. Just have a drive around the area during the day and night, with locked doors, and you'll see what I mean. I genuinely wouldn't live here even if someone offered to buy me a house, pay all my bills, clean it for me and cook for me. You couldn't pay me to live there.