Commutable Towns and Cities close to London

Consecca

numbercruncher8 said:

Reckon it depends on your salary.
With £10k as a deposit that really limits the options as maximum LTVs restrict the purchase price to £100k which rules out almost everything.
On £30k the maximum becomes a lot higher, but borrowing depends on how much you earn.

The fact of the matter is, if you want to own, need to commute to London and have less than say, £200k to play with you are going to have to take a compromise on something. You can buy, it won't be in the nicest spots.

Also it makes more sense to go direct to where you need to go. A season ticket from say, Braintree to London is the best part of £5,000. Additionally that only gets you into Liverpool St, so it would take another 15 mins or so to get to London Bridge and you need to take another tube or bus.

What is an LTVs? 
That is why I only want to start seriously looking when I have at least 30k so that I have more of an abundance of options to consider, I don't just want to "force my way through the turnstyles" so to speak with 10k.
I agree with considering an area that has a direct link to London Bridge, that is the bonus of where I live at the moment Flitwick , which has that, so I would not want to break that convenience.  I actually work in Bank but my nearest thameslink station is LB which is why I said London Bridge is where I need to get to.  But if it only went as far as Liverpool St that would still suit me as it's only a15min walk to Bank.

tower

Bishop’s Stortford or Harlow are about 40mins on the fast train to Liverpool st. Plenty of new homes being built. Stortford is nicer.

Consecca

blue_max_3 said:

I imagine that saving £20k is going to take you a while. You might be better looking at your options nearer the time. There are sure to be many changes as a result of the virus. 

Yea it will and then some but I will get there and in that time I'm confident my earning potential will increase as well as I continue to develop my skills. But your right not seriously looking now but it's nice to get the converstation rolling on the topic early so I have options to consider by the time I am ready to look.

Emmia

@Consecca LTV is essentially the value of the loan vs the value of the property you're buying e.g. a £100k property with a £10k (10%) deposit would have a 90% LTV. LTV is important for mortgage purposes,  lenders will have a minimum LTV and better rates are usually available the lower the LTV and the bigger proportion of the property you own.

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wjr4 said:

If you’re considering Withan, I recommend renting there first to see if you like the area. I don’t live too far away from there and I wouldn’t choose to live there. Have you looked anywhere on the C2C line? 

I'm surprised you say that because I have heard a lot of nice things about it, from what I have read so far on it and seen pictures of, looks like a qaint nice little town. 
What is the C2C line?

Consecca

Poster_586329 said:

OP, here's a 3-bed for just £100k!

Okay, the journey is a lot more than 50 minutes. But you'll be the envy of the office when they hear you eat breakfast on the balcony, looking out over the sea....

haha! this did make me smile! 

Consecca

MysteryMe said:

I don't live there but I know it reasonably well. Witham is fine for someone starting off, some roads on housing estates not so good but that is the same anywhere. There is a decent range of shops and eating places on the high street a couple of shopping precincts plus a couple of larger supermarkets. Chelmsford and Colchester are easy to get to if you want more shops or nightlife. Direct train into Liverpool street with not many stops and then bus to London Bridge is easy enough or the quickest way would be to hop off at Stratford and get the Jubilee line into London Bridge. 
I'd also consider areas in Kent served by the high speed service.

You mention some really good selling points that make Witham an attractive option to consider. Direct link to Liverpool Street, great nighlife close by.  I actually work in Bank so technically I could walk it from Liverpool Street Station to Bank.  Only a 15min walk.  I only said London Bridge because that is the closest Thameslink station to me that I use now, which is also only a short walk into Bank from the other direction.

Consecca

movilogo said:

@OP Is your work doable from home? If yes, you may soon find that lots of companies will now allow employees to work from home for most of the time. If you want to be nearer to London and already leaving in Flitwick, there only Luton is a cheap option.

Luton is not that bad. There are some nice areas on Luton, especially towards the North in Warden Hills, Barton Hills areas.

This is true given the current climate, but I just like the stimulus of going into London.  I actually do not mind the commute, so long as I can keep it to no more than an hour, i am fine with that.
They may be nicer parts of Luton, but they would be further out from the center and would invole needing a car into the equaion which technically would be adding more cost and time to the commute.  I don't want to involve my car into the commute, direct links only.

Consecca

Getting_greyer said:

Luton maybe a dive but still the best football team of all the other places listed.

Lol.  For some that would be a dealbreaker, forget cost and quality of living!

Consecca

spoovy said:

I'm in a similar situation. Swindon, Milton Keynes, Northampton & Basingstoke are all on my list as relatively good value options, and are all better than Essex / Kent if you like outdoorsy stuff, and all offer serious alternatives for places to work too with Reading, Oxford, Bristol commutable.

Nice to know we have someone on this thread in a similar postion.  Personally I would prefer the Kent / Essex end. But horses for courses.  I'm not seriously looking yet, just weighing up my options while I am still saving but I know I have a lot more saving to do, 30K is my deposit goal, what is your's and what value of property are you hoping to get?