FTB in Greater Manchester

amethyst39

That is a really good point actually because it's the sold prices not the asking prices that matter.

Wherever I buy I want to stay for at least five years, but potentially longer depending on the size of the property. Which is making me think maybe it would be worth finding a house just so there's more space.

I thought it was. I always used to love the houses around there but they definitely won't be within my budget unfortunately. Thank you for your help

Sunshine_girl2

Having lived in the area of Salford near the hospital for many years , checkout flat on rightmove on Lancaster Road , £130,000 . It's a busy road but all transport links close by , Metrolink about 10/15 min walk. Agree with other posters avoid Peel Green and bits of patricroft. Some parts of Winton are ok as well.

Good luck with your search.

amethyst39

Sunshine_girl2 wrote: »

Having lived in the area of Salford near the hospital for many years , checkout flat on rightmove on Lancaster Road , £130,000 . It's a busy road but all transport links close by , Metrolink about 10/15 min walk. Agree with other posters avoid Peel Green and bits of patricroft. Some parts of Winton are ok as well.

Good luck with your search.

that's good to hear
I've just seen the flat it looks lovely - I wish it wasn't a ground floor flat, would have been perfect otherwise. But I will see what else there is in that area as a few people now have suggested Lancaster Road area.

Thanks so much

weavedribbon

Another vote here for Whitefield or Bury. Some parts of Crumpsall are ok too and the area of Prestwich nearer Heaton Park tram stop is more reasonably priced too. I've lived in North Manchester for years now and the housing prices are so much better than south of the city centre. Tram service is great with a tram every 6 minutes except on Sundays. I agree with others that Eccles could be worth a go too though.

amethyst39

weavedribbon wrote: »

Another vote here for Whitefield or Bury. Some parts of Crumpsall are ok too and the area of Prestwich nearer Heaton Park tram stop is more reasonably priced too. I've lived in North Manchester for years now and the housing prices are so much better than south of the city centre. Tram service is great with a tram every 6 minutes except on Sundays. I agree with others that Eccles could be worth a go too though.

I like the size of houses in Bury are there any areas in particular to go for/avoid? I have only ever been to Bury once so I wouldn't know where to start.
I've seen a few that are really nice but they seem to be on the market for substantially more than others on the same street have sold for in the past 1-3 years.

The Heaton Park side of Prestwich I am a bit more familiar with and it seems quiet enough (apart from the festivals and things I suppose). I definitely agree re prices, South Manchester and Stockport are very pricey!

haf1

South Manchester and Stockport are very pricey!

And North Manchester has some really lovely areas! I second Bury, for the amenities.



Milnrow is really nice, but the tram Rochdale to Manchester via Milnrow is frequently delayed (I used to live round there and definitely prefer the trains).


Littleborough and Smithy Bridge would be on the train line, around 25 minutes to Manchester Victoria.

thecoffeehouse204

There's not really any areas of Bury I would class as no go, a few I wouldn't want to live in but that's probably because I've been spoiled, Anywhere in the area between Bolton Road and tottington Road to the west of the town would be good but you'd need to catch a bus to the tram stop from there. There's also the new apartments on The Rock that would be a 10 minute walk from the tram. One for sale for £150k at the moment.

amethyst39

I've been on Rightmove the last few days and also reading some of the forums on here and feeling more confused than ever.

I wanted an apartment as I thought (maybe naively) that I wouldn't have to worry too much about repairs as they'd be covered by service charges or split with other leaseholders.

a few questions I have are

When making a compromise is it better to go for a smaller property in a good area or a bigger property in an average area? if you are planning to stay there for 5 years...

Is it worth renting for a year before buying in an area you are unfamiliar with?

What is the best way to decide which areas to focus on (other than budget) I have checked crime rates and transport routes not sure if there are other things I should be considering.

RelievedSheff

In our experience do not underestimate the importance of the location of the property.

We made the mistake of buying a nice property in a not so nice area and regretted it. Hind sight is a wonderful thing but we would have been much better off spending a little bit more and finding maybe a not so nice property in a better area.

ACG

What do you want?
- It seems transport to town in important and only selected ones (ie tram and train).
- Something within your budget.
- Low crime.
- Anything else?

When I bought my first home about 8 years ago, I had a budget similar to yours. My gf did not drive so I had to find somewhere along one of 2 bus routes for her. I got on rightmove and drew out the routes of those 2 buses on a map within a certain distance of where she worked I then put in our budget and minimum 2 bedrooms and then hit search. I checked that for maybe 2 weeks and something popped up that I bought.

You can help narrow the areas down by just looking in greater manchester, for apartments that fall within your budget. Once you do that, you will clearly see the areas where what you want is feasible. If you then drill down in those areas for the ones that have tram or train stations and you will start to narrow the areas down quite quickly.

Then you can look at anything else that is important to you - crime, shops, pubs, schools etc and you should have your area(s) to concentrate on.