FTB relocating to Lancashire / Nationwide Helping Hand query

vimto456

Relocating 
I am a FTB looking for advice as I am currently feeling quite overwhelmed. 
I am from Manchester but looking to relocate to Preston/the surrounding areas for various reasons. 
I will still be working in Manchester 2-3 days per week and at the minute I don't drive. 
Does anyone have any knowledge about the Ashton-on-Ribble, Lostock Hall, Leyland or Fulwood areas? Or recommendations on areas nearby with a reasonable commute to Manchester? 
I do have friends in Preston as I used to work there but I have never worked there. 
I am looking for a 3 bedroom house and ideally I would like my purchase price to be £160k or under as I will be buying alone. 

General question
Has anyone bought a house after only one viewing? I generally prefer to view more than once but at the minute houses are selling so quickly that it doesn't seem possible to get a second viewing on houses or houses are selling above asking price. (Some houses are selling within two days before I am even able to view them).

Nationwide helping hand
I am looking for a long term home rather than a short term one so I don't want to settle for anything or be concerned about how much I could/would sell the house for before even making an offer.  
Because of that I am wondering whether it may be worth paying a little extra say up to £170k (approx. 5k more than the maximum I would ordinarily be able to afford) and applying with the Nationwide Helping Hand scheme, I know it isn't guaranteed and I generally don't live beyond my means but ideally I would like a long term/forever home. I appreciate this may sound unrealistic but moving is too much hassle and there do seem to be 3 bed semi-detached houses with a drive, separate dining rooms and sometimes a conservatory too in and around Preston which would be highly unlikely in Manchester. 
Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 

rach_k

You could look in/around Chorley too.  Buckshaw Village seems to be where Leyland bleeds into Chorley/Euxton and is nice.  It's near enough to Preston if you have friends there but is just that bit closer to Manchester for work.  

vimto456

rach_k said:

You could look in/around Chorley too.  Buckshaw Village seems to be where Leyland bleeds into Chorley/Euxton and is nice.  It's near enough to Preston if you have friends there but is just that bit closer to Manchester for work.  

Thank you, I have just had a look and there seems to be a lot of choice in Chorley. 

FindMyWayBack

Look into the history of Buckshaw......

swingaloo2

I would look at the Chorley area but would not touch Buckshaw Village with the probervial bargepole. The area around Astley Park which has the older part of Buckshaw is a mix of very nice houses on one side of the road and the roughest area of social housing on the other.  Both hubby and I worked around  social housing part and its not somewhere I would choose to live unkess its a last resort. 
The 'new' Buckshaw Village is all new housing but completely without any soul. Just a big sprawling estate with no character to be found anywhere.
Adlington is nice and so are some of the areas between Chorley and Preston but it all depends on the public transport if you are working in Manchester, you need to be near a station I presume.

FindMyWayBack

The area has worrying ground, surrounded by motorways and noise and social housing. Some parts are really nice but you really need to know the area to choose wisely

MovingForwards

In response to your general question, slightly different as mine was just before the pandemic and I completed during the original lockdown:

On the run up to being ready to buy I spent months searching the internet to work out areas, commute times and cost. Drove round several counties to look at properties externally and rule out areas. Attended a couple of open viewings, drove away from one before looking around the property, viewed another and it helped me realise what I wanted more eg location rather than size. There was one I kept looking at online, never lived or even visited the area, photos were dreadful, but there was 'something' about it I just wanted it. I used Google maps and earth to get an idea of the area, plus a few people I trusted said it was a nice area. 
I started to drive down the road it's on and could have cried as it had everything I wanted and felt right.
Second time I visited the area was when viewing, pulled up and had to act calm as I wanted it. Walked in and strolled around and loved it, looked out the windows and saw the views, got my tape measure out and wrote notes on the property as I went around the rooms again several times. Then had a chat with the occupiers, all the time listening (my rental had dreadful neighbours). Spent a while in the garden again listening while looking. I was there for about an hour.
Made my offer a couple of hours later, a few phone calls and price was agreed. Emailed my solicitor to make the formal offer (Scotland) and my broker to get the mortgage application underway.

Been here over a year and it's my home, never even thought of a second viewing as I saw everything I wanted during the first.

vimto456

swingaloo2 said:

I would look at the Chorley area but would not touch Buckshaw Village with the probervial bargepole. The area around Astley Park which has the older part of Buckshaw is a mix of very nice houses on one side of the road and the roughest area of social housing on the other.  Both hubby and I worked around  social housing part and its not somewhere I would choose to live unkess its a last resort. 
The 'new' Buckshaw Village is all new housing but completely without any soul. Just a big sprawling estate with no character to be found anywhere.
Adlington is nice and so are some of the areas between Chorley and Preston but it all depends on the public transport if you are working in Manchester, you need to be near a station I presume.

Thanks for the advice. 
I do really like the older properties in Ashton-on-Ribble as they have a lot of character. My friends have lovely houses. 
I am planning to learn to drive but the parking in Preston City Centre is so expensive and I don't actually enjoy driving. So ideally I would like to be within walking distance of a train station for convenience which is why I considered Leyland.  

FindMyWayBack said:

The area has worrying ground, surrounded by motorways and noise and social housing. Some parts are really nice but you really need to know the area to choose wisely

After a little research I did find out about the contaminated land which is quite worrying. Probably best to avoid it as I don't know Chorley/Buckshaw Village at all. 

MovingForwards said:

In response to your general question, slightly different as mine was just before the pandemic and I completed during the original lockdown:

On the run up to being ready to buy I spent months searching the internet to work out areas, commute times and cost. Drove round several counties to look at properties externally and rule out areas. Attended a couple of open viewings, drove away from one before looking around the property, viewed another and it helped me realise what I wanted more eg location rather than size. There was one I kept looking at online, never lived or even visited the area, photos were dreadful, but there was 'something' about it I just wanted it. I used Google maps and earth to get an idea of the area, plus a few people I trusted said it was a nice area. 
I started to drive down the road it's on and could have cried as it had everything I wanted and felt right.
Second time I visited the area was when viewing, pulled up and had to act calm as I wanted it. Walked in and strolled around and loved it, looked out the windows and saw the views, got my tape measure out and wrote notes on the property as I went around the rooms again several times. Then had a chat with the occupiers, all the time listening (my rental had dreadful neighbours). Spent a while in the garden again listening while looking. I was there for about an hour.
Made my offer a couple of hours later, a few phone calls and price was agreed. Emailed my solicitor to make the formal offer (Scotland) and my broker to get the mortgage application underway.

Been here over a year and it's my home, never even thought of a second viewing as I saw everything I wanted during the first.

That is very wise. I think location is more important to me than anything else as I really do want a long term home. I just want somewhere quiet as in the past I lived in an apartment building (rented) which had a lot of issues with anti-social behaviour and vandalism. I just found it unbearable. 

 I think I will visit more over the next few weeks/months to get to know the areas more and what they're like in the evenings. 

I am so glad you found a home that you love that's what I am aiming for. 

MovingForwards

The last rental I was in before buying had neighbours from hell in the block and the one attached to it, there was no escape and lockdown made everything 10x worse. I've actually purchased an end terrace flat, totally different layout to the rental and it's great, such a contrast.

Happy home hunting!

Viki2410

I live in Buckshaw, bought our first home here 2 years ago. Like all places, there are good and bad parts, but there is a very good community feel to the area and I definitely would not say it is souless with no character as some people suggest. Yes there are a lot of new builds, but the land was purchased for that reason. Yes it was an old RAF site, but we have no issues with the land and the area. The motorways are exteremly handy for the commute and no, you don't hear them as they are far enough away. Buckshaw Parkway is also a good station to go into either Preston or Manchester. Just go have a look round.