Thoughts and opinions please

Thorson

Hello.

I am looking for other people perspectives on the below.

My husband and I are first time buyers, currently living with my parents saving for a deposit.

We have found out what we can borrow and have been looking at what we can get with our money. Local to us we are looking at the top of our budget for a 2 bedroom maisonette/flat which have a service charge of around £90 per month.

These places would add 10/15 minutes onto our current commute of about 15/20mins (I know we are lucky with this at the moment). There is also not much of these kind of properties on the market at the moment (they are going really quick).

We have seen a 2 bedroom flat further away from us (about 30/35mins) so with traffic and rush hour is will probably take 45min-hour to commute to work (each way).

The property is much more affordable and gives us more money left over to actually overpay the mortgage, however I understand there will be increased fuel costs and we will further away from family (previously I was 10/15 minutes away)

So my question is what would you do in this situation, do you think an additional 15/20 minutes further from family matters or am I overthinking this? Thanks in advance

Pete9501

The money you save on the cheaper flat will be swallowed up in travel costs over the year.

marksoton

It's a very personal choice.

After 9 years commuting anything up to 3 hours each way travel times don't bother me. But my fuel costs are paid by my company.

If being a bit further out allows you a better standard of living overall i'd go for it.

MFWannabe

Are you going to mind the extra commuting time or are you going to quickly get fed up with it?
also are you going to mind being further away from family
there's just the two of you at the moment; do you plan to have children at some point in the near future and the distance will matter more then?

Thorson

Thanks for your opinions it is much appreciated.

The other thing that doesn't help is the location is a lot nicer to look at visibly (where the cheaper flat is) compared to the more local areas, however the areas nearer to us currently are more expensive as they are nearer to London (I currently live in a London Borough).

Where we are looking at the cheaper flat there is still a direct train line to London.

TBagpuss

This is a very personal choice. Will your (longer) commute be by car or is the train an option? Do you have any flexibility in working hours to allow you to avoid the worst ofthe rush hour. Have you tried the drive atthe time of day you would have to do it? If you're unlucky rush hour could add more than 15 minutes to a 30 minute trip.

I personally would not be bothered by the extra distance from family and the nicer surroundings would be abonus, but I'd have to think long and hard about the extra commute - 45 minutes at the end of a long, tiring day can feel like an awful lot. I moved house last year and swapped a 45 minute comute for a 10 minute one. It makes a big difference to my petrol costs, but I also find I am less tired and stressed - getting home half an hour earlier, and being able to be a bit more leisurely in getting up and having breakfast makes a surprisingly big difference.

Having said that, I have a colleague who does a 90 minute (each way!) commute and is fine with that.

Is there a possible third option of saving for another few months and being able to afford somewhere slightly closer?

bouicca21

A 45 minute commute is pretty good by London standards - but how comfortable would it be compared to your current journey? If it is a train journey find out if you'd get a seat; if it is a car journey would you be sitting in a traffic jam? And do you work regular hours? If you often work late, and have to do long hours 45 minutes to get home can feel dire.