First Time Buyer - Ashford? Advice needed

Ambition101

Hi All,

I'm hoping to get some advices regarding my situation and the properties I've been checking out in Ashford!

My Situation
I am currently working in Canary Wharf and the amount I've been paying on my rent is giving me nightmares hence why I am looking into buying my first house/flat with a current budget of £270-£280k. The houses I can see are affordable based on my income and using HTB. My budget could only get me a garden somewhere close to work hence why I'm looking further away.
Houses
I have been looking at the properties available and I can see some nice 2 beds houses posted by Crest Nicholson (Green Oaks Development, Taylor Wimpey (Report Park Development).
rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/property-59018134.html
rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/property-59017870.html
rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/property-47794059.html

Commute
The real worry is the commute to & from work. I have been checking the fares/time to commute from Ashford to London, it would take about 46minutes to get to Stratford using the HS1 service which I think is reasonable but the fares are in the North of £6k per annum to use this HS1 service.
The alternative to this is not using the HS1 service and this would take about 1hr 27mins to Victoria and the fares for using this service is showing up as £5,500 per annum.

Questions
Is Ashford a reasonable and decent place to live and commute to London on a daily basis?
Can you all provide me with your thoughts regarding these 2 builders and the houses? Pros and Cons?
The houses looks good and I'm planning to visit both developments over the long weekend to view their show homes, is there anything I should ask or look out for on new builds?
Is there anyone here who is currently doing this commute from Ashford to London? Is this a reasonable commute or am I missing something here?

All experts opinions/critics are very welcome.

Many thanks!

Browntoa

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/property-59018134.html/svr/3112


http://www.rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/property-59017870.html


http://www.rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/property-47794059.html


lots of new builds and continual new building in Ashford for the foreseeable future

positives:-

Near to the Coast
Near to open countryside
Large Outlet Centre
cheap housing

Negatives:-

Bus service is poor if you don't drive , especially late evening and weekends/Bank Hoildays

main town centre a bit shabby and run down


long commute

csgohan4

does it have to be a new build, they are usually over priced and the quality may not be so great. Research the developers.

In regards to commute, time is a rare commodity, so living in London means less commute and more time for family e.t.c

Will it be really that much cheaper renting than buying somewhere in a different city?

Ambition101

Thank you both for the quick replies!

@csgohan4 - Nope it doesn't have to be new builds although it would be my preference because I'm a first time buyer and I have no experience of doing a place up.

you're right, time is a very rare commodity but my worry is that I won't be able to afford a place of my own if I decide to live in London. I drive so I can get by without the need of public transport at weekends. Family lives in Erith but due to the Cross Rail coming to Woolwich/Abbeywood, the prices are on the up in the area.

I guess the difference in price won't be that much between renting and buying somewhere in a different city (Ashford in this case) but the feeling of having your own home without any landlord coming around to inspect or evict you when they decide to sell is priceless in my opinion.

tykesi

Just because something isn't new doesn't mean it needs 'doing up'. Plenty of houses on the market are in a state where you could move straight in and not do anything if you don't want.

Purplepenguin88

My commute is just over an hour door to door, I find that's comparable with my colleagues who live in zones 4-6, whereas I live outside the m25.

It all depends how long your commute is once you're off the train too - my 30min train + a short tube ride means it's not that much of a pain for me, if I moved job so that I had to travel to the other side of London it'd not only be extra time, but potentially a lot more hassle if there were delays. It might even make me reconsider taking that role.

Your options seem to be
46min train + 10mins to get to canary wharf
or
1hr27 train + 20mins to get to canary wharf
This means you're paying ~ 1K more to save yourself upwards of 2hrs/ day. To me that would be worth paying a lot whole more than 1K!

Thanetia

30 mins from Ashford to Stratford Int on HS1.
8 minutes to walk through Westfield to Stratford.
15-20 mins either Jubilee or DLR down to Canary Wharf

HS1 is a great commute and much more reliable that the SER Mainline service, but obviously rather more expensive.

Cakeguts

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-58378327.html This house has a cheaper asking price than at least one of your examples in Kent. Plus it has a garden.

Now you say that you don't want to have to spend money on improving a house. I would suggest that you look past the way that the kitchen units look and ask yourself if they work as kitchen cupboards. Can you use the cupboards to store food and crockery. If so how they look is choice because they are capable as functioning as kitchen cupboards.

The bathroom may not be white so what it still works as a bathroom you wouldn't need to change it straight away. In fact you could probably change it eventually with some of the money that you save in not commuting from Ashford but you don't have to.

There are things that you have to buy for new houses. They often don't come with floor coverings or wooden battens for curtain rails to screw into. They don't come with light fittings and they are usually decorated with magnolia colour paint. So you will probably want to decorate a new home which means that you can discount decorating as a problem because you will finish up doing that in either a new house or an older one.

What I would suggest is that you have another look at somewhere like Erith and see what you can find. If someone is already living in a house then it doesn't have to be updated you could live in it as it is. If you are not spending so much on a season ticket you can save that money for cosmetic changes to you house. The quick way to update a kitchen is to change the cupboard doors and the work surface.

Ambition101

Thank you all for your valuable inputs, they are very appreciated.

Cakeguts - Thanks for your detailed comment, certainly something to go away with and widen my search around Erith.

Running_Horse

Erith is not the best of areas. Rochester might be worth a look.

CouponClipper

Me and my girlfriend just moved into a flat between Charlton and Woolwich for 250,000.

I agree prices are rising but you can certainly get something for £270,000 either in Abbey Wood or Woolwich if you look hard enough.

Takes me 50mins to get to Westminster and about 30mins to get to Canary Wharf. Quicker when Crossrail is installed.

Certainly think going to Ashford is a bit extreme IMO!