Buying first home - cold feet about area

Rae18

Cakeguts wrote: »

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.

This is true - there isn't much research into mental health and drugs, and not only that, but there isn't much funding for mental health services either so those who are unfortunate enough to suffer from poor mental health are often left with mediocre/ineffective medication, and a lack of community/health support. This ends up with people like myself becoming carers and taking on the worries, trials, and life battles of two people.

And yes, I realise I won't be able to use the car if I move out which is why I'm pretty limited where I can go. I have to be in a good commuting area but I also need to be within my budget. Skem is really the only place I can (and would be willing) to live. I realise I could buy cheaper in Liverpool and save £££ on petrol/commuting costs, but I lived in Liverpool for 9 years and while I love working and visiting in the city, I could never live there again. I feel more comfortable in West Lancashire and unfortunately, Skem is the only place I can afford.

needhouseadvice

Rae18 wrote: »

Hi guys,

I could use some advice. I'm a first time home buyer and I've just put in an offer on a 2 bed terraced property for 85k which was accepted. It is a beautiful house, absolutely stunning. All recently renovated - brand new high quality wooden floors in every room, completely new kitchen and bath room, beautifully decorated throughout, brand new wood burner fire, new boiler etc.

The sellers are also leaving ALL their furniture bar a few pictures on the walls and their main TV. They've explained this partly as wanting to help a first time buyer get themselves set up, and partly because they're moving into a flat due to the wife's health issues and they've been told they need brand new appliances due to rules of the apartment. I live in a flat currently and have never heard of rules like this so I'm a little unsure what to think of that to be honest. Also, they're taking their chest freezer which isn't new with them so how does that tally with the "new appliances rules" reason? I can't tell if I'm over-thinking this or not.

It really is a beautiful property though with a massive garden (albeit a bit overgrown but will be stunning with a mow, deweeding and some minor tlc), an expensive gated paved front drive, beautiful built in wardrobes, and it's really close to the m58 which makes it fantastic for my commute to work. So there are a lot of compelling positives.

But I'm nervous and I can't seem to shake said nerves. I think it's for a few reasons.

- Area. It's an old council estate with a poor reputation and not at all in my desired town. The town it's in, I can only described as "errily vacant". Not in a "tranquil countryside" manner, more in a "did an apocalypse happen here?" manner. At risk of giving my location away, it's one of those purposely build new towns that was designed to hold a lot more people than it ended up attracting, hence there are parts of it that just feel overwhelmingly empty despite being full of houses. There's also no real town centre so it lacks that community feel. There's basically just a supermarket and shopping precinct in which probably 50% of the shops are vacant. Is this really an area I want to spend several years in? To be fair though, it's not far from a much nicer town that I currently live in so I'm only moving a few miles away meaning more attractive places to shop are available so it's not like I'm completely isolating myself in a town I hate.

- House prices. This isn't my forever home - as much as I'm in love with it, it's not big enough for a family nor is the property type or location my ultimate desire so while I'm happy to live there for a few years, negative equity/being able to sell at a profit are big issues for me. Both the houses next door (one on each side) are soon to be renovated and the estate agent reckons it will help the house appreciate value considerably and has said the owners are well aware they're selling at a loss but have to due to the wife's health (and this adds up - they have reduced the price by 15k in the 2 months it's been on the market). But, we will have to live with possible noise from BOTH houses being renovated and I can't help worry this is the REAL reason they're moving and they know more than they're letting on about the nature/scale of the works to be carried out. I'm not sure if I want to live in a house sandwiched between two renovation projects. Plus if the renovations DON'T go ahead, then I won't get my 'increase in value' the estate agent is promising, nor will the look of the terrace row be improved which could again impact on potential buyers - who wants to live next door to two run-down properties, especially ones in a poor area of a poor town. While I'm sure some people won't mind, I can see it narrowing my potential buyer-pool considerably.

But, those concerns aside, it is an absolutely stunning property that they'd made up for their retirement and you can definitely see it's a high quality home with real attention paid to it, and I really could see myself living there for a few years quite happily. I've seen other properties in this price range and they're not even close to as nice with easily noticeable issues (damp, structural issues). This property doesn't show any worrying issues (of course I will be getting a comprehensive survey due to its age) so compared to other properties in my affordable range, it really is a stunning property that I could move in to tomorrow and be completely at home right away. Them leaving all the goods as well makes it a very difficult offer to pass up as that would save me thousands. Even if I bought everything second hand it would WELL be a year before I had a fully furnished home.

I'm just nervous I suppose. It's a big deal buying a home. You make a mistake and you can't just hand in your months notice like you can in rented so it feels like a massive jump to take and I just can't stop worrying that I could be making a big mistake.

I guess I just need someone else's perspective here. Am I over-thinking this, or should I listen to those little nagging concerns?

OP as someone who had major doubts about their house sale and pushed on through regardless I would say to you - pull out now while you still can! I thougth exchanging would settle my doubts once and for all. Wrong! I still had doubts except now I own the bloody thing and can't move out for a while without major expense/hassle.

Both your concerns are legitimate. Wait. Something better always comes along. I didn't believe this at the time and had to learn the hard way by seeing better/cheaper flats come on the market after I'd bought mine. Just rent for a while - it's not throwing away money, it's giving you the freedom to save and find your perfect home.

Rae18

I feel like I should point something out as I didn't make myself clear - It's not the entirety of Skem I don't like; it was that -particular- area. There are nicer areas, such as the Old Skem area and there are some new build areas with nice detached houses in them with professionals living there. It's not all as bad as it sounds (or looks!). I am more than happy to buy in Skelmersdale - my mistake here was getting very carried away with a beautiful house and not only paying more than asking price, but being willing to overlook that particular area. I thought with it only being down the road effectively from where I'd like to live I could adjust but once I'd had chance to feel the weight of my decision, I realised I really couldn't live in that particular part of Skem.

Rae18

needhouseadvice wrote: »

OP as someone who had major doubts about their house sale and pushed on through regardless I would say to you - pull out now while you still can! I thougth exchanging would settle my doubts once and for all. Wrong! I still had doubts except now I own the bloody thing and can't move out for a while without major expense/hassle.

Both your concerns are legitimate. Wait. Something better always comes along. I didn't believe this at the time and had to learn the hard way by seeing better/cheaper flats come on the market after I'd bought mine. Just rent for a while - it's not throwing away money, it's giving you the freedom to save and find your perfect home.

Thanks - I backed out this morning. Cancelled the whole deal. Was expecting to be talked back into it but the estate agent was surprisingly fine about it which weirdly cemented it to me that I'd made the right decision to back out.

And I suppose this is a learning curve for me. I didn't even think I would get a mortgage so when I was given a decision in principle and knew I had enough savings to go ahead, I was ecstatic, like a child let loose in a sweet shop. I saw a beautiful house in a price bracket I could afford, with a bunch of freebies thrown in and couldn't believe my luck, basically. I've never bought a house before so naively I thought I could get over the area and adjust, but once it hit me that I could actually be living there, I realised then I couldn't adjust to the area at all.

zagubov

I'm pleased to read that, OP.

I don't think you'll regret this decision.

Cakeguts

So where else have you lived apart from Liverpool. Many years ago I used to live in Southport but it isn't worth trying to buy a house there because it is a bit expensive and you have to be a bit careful about the sand. Some houses have moved a bit.

Formby is quite nice and so are some bits of Crosby. I wouldn't recommend Bootle though but somewhere with a train station would be possible?

amateur_house

Rae18 wrote: »

Amateur house:

Area is Skelmersdale if it helps any?

You bring up very good points. The only thing I could think of that would add value to this property is significantly landscaping/designing the garden, and/or adding an extension to make it a three bed. But I couldn't afford either of those things even in the distant future. I have already looked into the cost of landscaping (I had ridiculous ambitions for the garden lol) and that alone looks to be an easy 10k. Extension prices just made my eyes water.

I don't know Skelmersdale (I was thinking it could be Warrington), but you have had a lot of advice from people who do know the area, and come to a decision now. As you seem to be happy with that, it is probably the right decision. I pulled out of a purchase recently and instantly felt so depressed I knew I had done the wrong thing, but that's another story

I expect you will find a more suitable property soon. I think you are doing well to want to be independent at a young age and looking for a way to achieve that. My eldest son is a similar age (29) and can't afford to buy where we live (terraces start at £300k), but as this is the area he wants to live has decided he will probably will never move out. I think he could regret this when he gets to his 40s. As I don't mind moving to a cheaper area I am now looking for a house I can live in so the children can stay here but still be independent. One downside is that I have to pay 2nd home stamp duty tax, whereas if my son bought a house he wouldn't have to pay it.