Considering a move to The Valleys...

kayfaz

Hi,

I have been offered a really good management job with about 40% increase in salary!

But the condition is that I move to The Valleys in Wales - about 15miles north of Cardiff.

What are my choices in regards to accomodation:

1. Rent out my current house in Reading - request for a consent to let and buy another similar mid terraced house in the valleys near Nantgarw, which are going for around £60-70k!
2. Rent my current house in Reading to pay for its mortgage and rent out another property in Wales.
3. Sell my house in Reading (worth around £200k) and buy a bigger, detached house with a garage in Wales for similar price.

As it's only me and my other half at the moment (no kids yet) I think option 1 is best suited for us, but what are the mortgage complications for it?



Any pointers/advice much appreciated!



Thanks

BJV

First

of well done You!

I would rent yours out for a while and make sure that the new area suits you both. Then when you have decided about the location buy.

Tixy

I think I would go for option 2 first.

Then you'll have the choice at a later stage of either
-buying a second property and likely need to change the mortgage on your first property to a BTL from a CTL, or
-selling up and buying a larger property in the new location.

TwistedPsycho

I would opt for option 2 as well.

I think that Reading house prices are in line for a higher rise; if you wanted to move back from The Valleys in a few years time then you might lose money overall as a result.

kayfaz

Thank you all for the quick replies!

I think we will end up living in Wales for a while, we are both in love with the area in terms of landscape, pace of life, house prices and the list goes on.

I don't think we will return to live in Reading, but as @TwistedPsycho mentioned, house prices are increasing rapidly in Reading and they have good rental incomes at the moment to. So it would be a nice investment for the future. And yes I may have to change to BTL after a year.

Reason we are falling for option 1 than option 2 is because house prices seem very reasonable in the valleys at the moment and seeing that we won't be stretching our budget too much (if we went for a 60-70k property) however rent prices aren't brilliant compared to house prices...

But still considering all 3 options or is there a fourth maybe?

kwmlondon

Congratulations!

I would actually suggest option one. Property prices in that part of the world mean you can get a very pleasant home and pay it off very speedily and you're right - the rental market is much smaller meaning you'll be less likely to find somewhere you like and maybe not bag such a bargain.

Tixy

If you go for option one then you may well need to switch to a buy to let mortgage rather than consent to let. That will depend on your finances of course and whether you income will mean you are likely to get 2 residential mortgages.

Errata

Option 2 because your job may not work out, it also gives you time to have a good look round for a decent property in a decent area.

lindens

Option 2. I have lived in the valleys and cardiff and all valleys are not equal. some are dead end dives with no jobs and no futures, others are much better,
i wouldnt live in natgarw for example, but would live in taffs well, morganstown, tongwynlais, gwaelodygarth which are all 5 mins away. but you wont get much for £70K in those places, more like £150K

agrinnall

News today that the Circuit of Wales has signed an agreement with Dorna to run the British MotoGP there for at least 4 years from 2016.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-28778032

Whether you think that's a good thing or not I suppose depends on your view of motorbike racing and its fans.

kwmlondon

Now that is exciting!