Where house prices are still rising and easy to commute to London?

RelievedSheff

Miranda25 said:

Leigh-on-Sea and Southend-on-Sea are neighboors. What makes Leigh-on-Sea much better? (I am just curious).

Budget today £280k. It can be £300k in one year time.

I have another dilemma which I did not consider before:
I did not realize that transport infrastructure does not develop outside of London.
Today had chat with a colleague at work and realized that I need to drive if I want to live somewhere outside of London.

I am confused now what to do (as I am not sure how quickly can pass exams and have driving license).

I think you need to have a sit down and figure out what is actually important to you when/if you move. You seem to be worrying about too much at once and not coming up with any clear aims and goals.

It certainly isn't true that you have to drive if you want to live outside of London. Plenty of people don't drive outside of London and go about their day to day business perfectly happily. 

Public transport can be very hit and miss and varies wildly from area to area. Something to definitely consider but it doesn't mean that you have to have driving lessons straight away.

Your budget isn't huge for the areas that you are looking at, so you are going to have to make compromises somewhere.

Miranda25

hazyjo said:

Miranda25 said:

Leigh-on-Sea and Southend-on-Sea are neighboors. What makes Leigh-on-Sea much better? (I am just curious).

Budget today £280k. It can be £300k in one year time.

I have another dilemma which I did not consider before:
I did not realize that transport infrastructure does not develop outside of London.
Today had chat with a colleague at work and realized that I need to drive if I want to live somewhere outside of London.

I am confused now what to do (as I am not sure how quickly can pass exams and have driving license).

Unfortunately Leigh's well out of budget. I'd stick to Tunbridge Wells (where I've previously considered) if you can get a small house there. Or consider a flat in a small block or conversion. I started off with 2 flats, nothing wrong with that.

I only use my car to head to the swimming pool or to see family. I take the train or walk everywhere else. EVERYTHING is on my doorstep (even the pool - I just don't like coming out 'cold/wet/looking a sight' while walking home!).

https://www.essexlive.news/whats-on/upmarket-seaside-town-thats-full-8177890

Leigh is not out of budget:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/135670082#/?channel=RES_BUY

Tunbridge Wells is not out of budget too:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/137598986#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/137307251#/?channel=RES_BUY

Regarding flat - do you think I should not scare all the issues with ground rent which can make the flat unsellable in the future (when I need to sell it)?
I cannot do attachments on forum, otherwise I would attach what I mean.

Miranda25

RelievedSheff said:

Miranda25 said:

Leigh-on-Sea and Southend-on-Sea are neighboors. What makes Leigh-on-Sea much better? (I am just curious).

Budget today £280k. It can be £300k in one year time.

I have another dilemma which I did not consider before:
I did not realize that transport infrastructure does not develop outside of London.
Today had chat with a colleague at work and realized that I need to drive if I want to live somewhere outside of London.

I am confused now what to do (as I am not sure how quickly can pass exams and have driving license).

I think you need to have a sit down and figure out what is actually important to you when/if you move. You seem to be worrying about too much at once and not coming up with any clear aims and goals.

It certainly isn't true that you have to drive if you want to live outside of London. Plenty of people don't drive outside of London and go about their day to day business perfectly happily. 

Public transport can be very hit and miss and varies wildly from area to area. Something to definitely consider but it doesn't mean that you have to have driving lessons straight away.

Your budget isn't huge for the areas that you are looking at, so you are going to have to make compromises somewhere.

Yes you are right 100%.

I cannot make my mind whether I need to go with:

- flat in London (and all facilities around) but I scare that it would be unsellable in the future due to those ground rent issues (and new law on ground rent introduced just recently so plenty of flats in the UK will be affected by it)
- small houses in areas close to London or even in Greater London but houses are not really nice and I would need to make refurbishments which again I am not after as I prefer to spend my money on holidays and seeing the world 
- better houses but location will be further from London, eg. Ashford, Folkestone, Milton Keynes, Haywards Heath, Eastbourne.... 
- continue to rent (but it is silly to rent for many years if I can buy?)

Thank you.

CSI_Yorkshire

Can I ask why "an area where prices are rising" is important to you?

In your original post you say "most important is that I can sell in future".   What makes you think that any house you buy will be unsaleable in future?

If you just mean that you will not sell at a loss when you come to sell in future, that entirely depends on how long you expect to own.  1 year? 5? 10? 25?  Each would have a completely different chance of prices going up or down.

And even if the prices were level or slightly less at the time you sell, you would still need to compare the 'loss' and the mortgage interest to how much you would have paid in rent across that same time.

2childmum2

If you need to commute make sure you check the cost. We were looking at moving out of SE London to Tonbridge as we thought it might be cheaper but the money we would have saved on the mortgage was swallowed up by the cost of the commute.
We looked at varying distances and it was the same wherever we looked. We decided to stay put and have a shorter commute and the convenience of all the amenities we have nearby.

Tiglet2

Miranda25 said:

RelievedSheff said:

Miranda25 said:

Leigh-on-Sea and Southend-on-Sea are neighboors. What makes Leigh-on-Sea much better? (I am just curious).

Budget today £280k. It can be £300k in one year time.

I have another dilemma which I did not consider before:
I did not realize that transport infrastructure does not develop outside of London.
Today had chat with a colleague at work and realized that I need to drive if I want to live somewhere outside of London.

I am confused now what to do (as I am not sure how quickly can pass exams and have driving license).

I think you need to have a sit down and figure out what is actually important to you when/if you move. You seem to be worrying about too much at once and not coming up with any clear aims and goals.

It certainly isn't true that you have to drive if you want to live outside of London. Plenty of people don't drive outside of London and go about their day to day business perfectly happily. 

Public transport can be very hit and miss and varies wildly from area to area. Something to definitely consider but it doesn't mean that you have to have driving lessons straight away.

Your budget isn't huge for the areas that you are looking at, so you are going to have to make compromises somewhere.

Yes you are right 100%.

I cannot make my mind whether I need to go with:

- flat in London (and all facilities around) but I scare that it would be unsellable in the future due to those ground rent issues (and new law on ground rent introduced just recently so plenty of flats in the UK will be affected by it)
- small houses in areas close to London or even in Greater London but houses are not really nice and I would need to make refurbishments which again I am not after as I prefer to spend my money on holidays and seeing the world 
- better houses but location will be further from London, eg. Ashford, Folkestone, Milton Keynes, Haywards Heath, Eastbourne.... 
- continue to rent (but it is silly to rent for many years if I can buy?)

Thank you.

OP, I think you need:

     To live in London
     Easy Access to the London tube/train/bus network
     Easy commute to London Bridge, i.e. SE London, S London, Kent, Surrey.

So, in order to get the above, you should look at flats, not houses, as your budget won't be enough for a freehold house in these areas.

If you buy a new build flat with a new lease, there will be no ground rent. The first phase of the promised leasehold reform to abolish ground rents for newly built properties came into force in June 2022. This has outlawed the charging of ground rent on new leases – so good news for anyone buying a new build. 

However, new build flats don't usually increase much in value in the first few years, so consider how long you intend to live there.

Tiglet2

Miranda25 said:

hazyjo said:

Miranda25 said:

Leigh-on-Sea and Southend-on-Sea are neighboors. What makes Leigh-on-Sea much better? (I am just curious).

Budget today £280k. It can be £300k in one year time.

I have another dilemma which I did not consider before:
I did not realize that transport infrastructure does not develop outside of London.
Today had chat with a colleague at work and realized that I need to drive if I want to live somewhere outside of London.

I am confused now what to do (as I am not sure how quickly can pass exams and have driving license).

Unfortunately Leigh's well out of budget. I'd stick to Tunbridge Wells (where I've previously considered) if you can get a small house there. Or consider a flat in a small block or conversion. I started off with 2 flats, nothing wrong with that.

I only use my car to head to the swimming pool or to see family. I take the train or walk everywhere else. EVERYTHING is on my doorstep (even the pool - I just don't like coming out 'cold/wet/looking a sight' while walking home!).

https://www.essexlive.news/whats-on/upmarket-seaside-town-thats-full-8177890

Leigh is not out of budget:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/135670082#/?channel=RES_BUY

Tunbridge Wells is not out of budget too:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/137598986#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/137307251#/?channel=RES_BUY

Regarding flat - do you think I should not scare all the issues with ground rent which can make the flat unsellable in the future (when I need to sell it)?
I cannot do attachments on forum, otherwise I would attach what I mean.

Leigh is not out of budget, no.  But, nowhere near the station for your commute to London Bridge!  

Miranda25

Gavin83 said:

Miranda25 said:

subjecttocontract said:

Basildon, Essex. 35 minutes from Fenchurch Street. Plenty of affordable homes. Definitely recommend that you take a look.

Would be Southend-on-Sea more desirable area then Basildon please? (as a coastal town)

I know this whole area quite well. I grew up in Romford, had grandparents in Basildon and now my nan is in a care home in Leigh-on-sea, so I'm spending a fair amount of time there too. Personally I'd have to be in a desperate situation to live in Romford again, Basildon or Southend. Leigh is definitely nicer than all the above.

I've also lived in a few other places in Essex, such as Loughton and Saffron Walden. Loughton is nice, if a little Towie but it's certainly not cheap and I think you'd struggle to find anything at your budget. Personally wasn't a fan of Saffron Walden and I couldn't wait to move out but a lot of people seem to like it. It's also not that cheap though and the transport links to London are very poor.

I now live in Cambridgeshire. It's a nice part of the World to live in but I wouldn't say it's easily commutable to London. It's doable for a day or two a week but anymore than that I'd say you need to look elsewhere.

If your plan is to travel into London via London Bridge I'd keep your search south, the Kent/Surrey areas. I know the Tunbridge Wells area (father in law lives there) which seems nice so if you can get something in that area for budget I think it's well worth a look. You'd need to check out the commute though. 

Yes I agree with you that Kent/Surrey is better for me.

I lived before in North-West London and used underground to get to Central London.
I do not want to live like that anymore.
Morning commute via train straight to London Bridge/ Waterloo is much more pleasant :-))

Miranda25

CSI_Yorkshire said:

Can I ask why "an area where prices are rising" is important to you?

In your original post you say "most important is that I can sell in future".   What makes you think that any house you buy will be unsaleable in future?

If you just mean that you will not sell at a loss when you come to sell in future, that entirely depends on how long you expect to own.  1 year? 5? 10? 25?  Each would have a completely different chance of prices going up or down.

And even if the prices were level or slightly less at the time you sell, you would still need to compare the 'loss' and the mortgage interest to how much you would have paid in rent across that same time.

First of all:
I was influenced by the article about people from London moving outside of the city and driving house prices up...
It makes sense to me to live in more expensive areas as I am working in a professional environment and I think higher percentage of office people live in more expensive areas. So I will be surrounded by people similar to me and feel more comfortable (I might be wrong).

Secondly: 
I would not like to sell at a loss in the future:-))
Lets say 5-10 years. Definitely not 25 years.

Miranda25

2childmum2 said:

If you need to commute make sure you check the cost. We were looking at moving out of SE London to Tonbridge as we thought it might be cheaper but the money we would have saved on the mortgage was swallowed up by the cost of the commute.
We looked at varying distances and it was the same wherever we looked. We decided to stay put and have a shorter commute and the convenience of all the amenities we have nearby.

That's a good point. 

But I am thinking slightly different :-))
I don't care how much I will spend on commuting to London. 
What is important to me: to be able to pay mortgage and other expenses and still have some money left which would allow me to have luxury holidays which I had every year and more often for many years (my recent holidays - Dubai).
I do not want to have flat/house at the expense of giving up all other enjoyments in life:-))