Buying first home - cold feet about area

amanda_p

I don't think you should buy. Your gut instinct is usually the right one. Many , many years ago we found a beautiful house, all completely refurbished, with a huge landscaped garden. The perfect house, built at the end of a council estate. Once we got home , had our offer accepted the doubts set in. In the end we pulled out and realised location is very important. When you want to sell it won't be easy, people will be having doubts as you are. You are in a difficult position regarding your personal issues, but I think if you
go ahead you might be making these worse.
A difficult decision all round.

Red-Squirrel_2

AlexMac wrote: »

Look out for anyone you wouldn't be able to cope with as future neighbours; feral kids, drunken parties, drug dealers, people who order pizza, wife-beating neighbours, people practicing the trumpet or petty bourgeous Neighbourhood Watchers who call the cops when they see someone like you stalking their manor (or any other demographics which offend your sensibilities).

I can understand the others, but I'm really struggling to understand what would so hard to cope with about a person who eats pizza!

Icecannon

Really sounds as you need to put your mum in a home, a change of address is not going to be a dream fix.

The state you sound in, she and you would be better off.

If that isn't an option, surely she is able to qualify for state housing that is suitable for her needs, you are not legelly resonablte for her, as harsh as some may think saying that is.

If you are in a whole, you don't jump into another one, you improve your situation, not move to somewhere that is only borderline better.

boliston

penguingirl wrote: »

My experience in the area (Wigan not Skem) is that there aren't loads of flats around- and they were overpriced as often newer. There are lots of Victorian terraces about which can be presented to a good standard and are good starter homes.

Just done a quick search on rightmove and quite a few flats in the 50-65k range - I though I lived in a cheap area down here in rural somerset but this is less than half what typical flats go for - I would always go for something cheaper and have some spare money at the end of each month than be tied into a mortgage that meant I had little spending money.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E1213&minBedrooms=0&maxBedrooms=2&displayPropertyType=flats&oldDisplayPropertyType=flats&primaryDisplayPropertyType=flats&oldPrimaryDisplayPropertyType=flats&numberOfPropertiesPerPage=24&viewType=GRID

penguingirl

boliston wrote: »

Just done a quick search on rightmove and quite a few flats in the 50-65k range - I though I lived in a cheap area down here in rural somerset but this is less than half what typical flats go for - I would always go for something cheaper and have some spare money at the end of each month than be tied into a mortgage that meant I had little spending money.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E1213&minBedrooms=0&maxBedrooms=2&displayPropertyType=flats&oldDisplayPropertyType=flats&primaryDisplayPropertyType=flats&oldPrimaryDisplayPropertyType=flats&numberOfPropertiesPerPage=24&viewType=GRID

The problem with all those flats is that they're all in skelmersdale, which is the OP's concern about the original property and seems to be the view of all posters who know the area. He'd be better choosing any alternative area locally.

alchemist.1

It isnt an issue buying a house in this type of area but some reason you have decided to overpay (that is an issue). The value of the place isnt going to increase that much however well it has been modernised or improved (because of the area).

If you cant afford to buy anywhere else or any other area, look at somewhere a lot cheaper with potential to add the improvements yourself.

Cakeguts

Icecannon wrote: »

Really sounds as you need to put your mum in a home, a change of address is not going to be a dream fix.

The state you sound in, she and you would be better off.

If that isn't an option, surely she is able to qualify for state housing that is suitable for her needs, you are not legelly resonablte for her, as harsh as some may think saying that is.

If you are in a whole, you don't jump into another one, you improve your situation, not move to somewhere that is only borderline better.

People with a mental illness do not need to go into a home. You wouldn't put someone into a home just because they were on crutches.

Rae18

Cakeguts wrote: »

People with a mental illness do not need to go into a home. You wouldn't put someone into a home just because they were on crutches.

Thanks - a lot of people don't realise how mental illness works and I hear this suggestion a lot. There's no such facility for mentally ill people anyway because as you said, mentally ill people (baring those undergoing severe episodes who may spend a while in a psychiatric intensive care unit) don't need to do into a home. They can look after themselves.

Also, to those mentioning the mobility car - I used it solely to get to work and was given explicit permission by both DLA and the motability scheme to use it as I bring money into the household and pay all the petrol costs as my mother would not have been able to afford the car otherwise. I have the express permission to use it.

Cakeguts

Rae18 wrote: »

Thanks - a lot of people don't realise how mental illness works and I hear this suggestion a lot. There's no such facility for mentally ill people anyway because as you said, mentally ill people (baring those undergoing severe episodes who may spend a while in a psychiatric intensive care unit) don't need to do into a home. They can look after themselves.

Also, to those mentioning the mobility car - I used it solely to get to work and was given explicit permission by both DLA and the motability scheme to use it as I bring money into the household and pay all the petrol costs as my mother would not have been able to afford the car otherwise. I have the express permission to use it.

Regarding the car you won't be able to use it if you don't live with your mother so factor that into where you are going to move to.

Yes I fully understand about the mental illness. The problem is with those kinds of mental illnesses is that there hasn't been a lot of research into new drugs for mental illnesses in general so some of the medication can be a bit old fashioned and has some unpleasant side effects which can make people reluctant to take it. If someone becomes a bit reluctant to take it they need to see their doctor for advice.

Rae18

cloo wrote: »

Resale issues should always be considered for somewhere not a 'forever' home.

I guess one thing that might help is to find out whether there are any big developments planned that might make the area less Tumbleweed Central? An out-of-town mall, a shopping outlet, town centre redevelopment, a major employer moving into the area for example. If one of these is underway it could improve matters... if it's just being 'discussed', then that could be never, especially if the economy slides in the near future.

It sounds to me like the loveliness of the house is not a good reason to go for it and you would find hard to sell unless there is a major turnaround in the area within a few years.

From what I know, there are new developments planned - both housing and a bunch of new shops coming to revive the ailing Concourse. I don't know if realistically this is going to increase the desirability of the area though, and the works haven't started yet so there's always the chance it won't go ahead but hopefully this will be a nice overhaul for the town if it does go ahead.

And yes, as much as I love the house, I decided to back out. It wasn't the area for me. I've seen other, not as nice houses in parts of Skem that I much more prefer and I'd rather live in a 'shabbier' house in a better town. A lot of people here really gave me a lot to think about and it makes sense to buy a not-so-great house in a decent area and do it up slowly, than it is to buy a beautiful house in a bad area.

Ultimately, I AM still looking to buy in Skem against many people's suggestions. I have various reasons for this including cost, wanting to stay in West Lancashire, and having friends there. These might not be compelling reasons to some but I have Aspergers and change is VERY difficult for me. I know what will work for me personally so I'm happy to buy in Skem as I know you can sell for a profit there as I've seen it done. I just need to be careful about what I'm buying.