Best way to buy a house in another part of the country that you intend to move to?

kimwp

Reddit is quite a good place for asking which are the nice areas to live in a county, local amenities, upcoming changes etc, worth posting there.

Jude57

Exodi said:

Albermarle said:

Tabieth said:

I’d focus on the area first. Where do they want to live (rather than just where can they afford a detached house). Then they should visit the area to suss it out and narrow down locations they like. As they have children presumably schools are also a factor here? But also factors like do they want a city, a town, a village? Where exactly? The midlands and the north are both very big areas with a lot of diversity within them. For example, York, Harrogate, Barnsley, Liverpool and Manchester are all in the north of England but are very different. At the same time they can be job hunting in the local areas and getting an idea of what’s available. 

Once they’ve done all of that I’d recommend they rent somewhere to make sure they really do like the area. Ideally the job offers and rental properties start at the same time. Then, when they are actualy living in their chosen area, they can house hunt without the disadvantage of living hundreds of miles away. 

I think they should first start to narrow down possible options, as otherwise there will be too much choice.
So as highlighted in bold in the post above, I would start with the type of place they would like to live.
Then with location, house prices only really drop significantly once you cross the historic England North/South split line which runs between the Wash and The Seven Estuary, although in reality it is not a dead straight line.
I would guess cheaper house prices only really start from Northampton on the M1, Grantham on the A1 and Birmingham on the M6

By chance the two houses she had liked on Rightmove were in Northampton and Gratham!

I think maybe the best idea might be to book a week long trip or so, spending a day or two in places like Northampton, Peterborough, Leicester, etc and seeing which she prefers - maybe following up with a week trip to her preferred area to make sure - then begin the job search and if successful trying to find a rental?

I suppose from then they can breath easy that they have a year to find and buy a house.

I guess the hardest bit will be her partner getting a job 3 hours from where he currently lives.

kimwp said:

Beeston is nice - tram to the centre of Nottingham, lots of lovely green spaces and playgrounds and Nottingham puts on loads of activities for children.

Will let her know - she's all about her kids (aged 3 and 4 I believe) so things like activities and playgrounds would be high up on the list of priorities.

While your sister could probably get a transfer of store with her current employer, she might not be able to get the same hours/seniority so that's something to consider and to be certain of before making their decision. I'm not sure how many stores will have unfilled vacancies for any length of time, excepting temporary ones over Christmas. And it might not be so easy for her husband to find unskilled work near the location she needs to be in for work. Depending on what unskilled work he can do, he might, like many other unskilled workers, have to work on contracts away from home which would place a significant additional burden on his wife. And there's also the support network they may currently have in place - how will they manage without that in a new place?

I also wonder whether they would qualify for/be interested in shared ownership via a Housing Association? I'm sure you'll know about that and can signpost them to anything suitable but as I understand it, it's aimed at people just like your relatives who would struggle to buy a suitable home in the open market. Just a thought.

Brie

Do they have friends and family in Kent?  (including the kids)  Will they be close enough to maintain the friendships and family ties if they move up north?  

I know you say nothing tying them to Kent but sometimes it's not thought through thoroughly enough and there are regrets that are expensive to remedy in a couple of years.

Albermarle

Brie said:

Do they have friends and family in Kent?  (including the kids)  Will they be close enough to maintain the friendships and family ties if they move up north?  

I know you say nothing tying them to Kent but sometimes it's not thought through thoroughly enough and there are regrets that are expensive to remedy in a couple of years.

If there are  ties, then from places around the East Midlands it is relatively easy journey back to Kent.
Of course if they go 'Proper North' then it becomes more of a trek.

Slinky

Another thought regarding the labourer husband, could he secure a job whilst lodging somewhere Monday to Thursday night? My friend's husband did this many years ago for 6 months whilst working his probationary period. Once that was complete and they were certain things were going to work out, they sold their house, rented for a while whilst she found a job in the area and eventually they bought

nakie999

I’m glad someone brought this up - it’s more complicated than it looks. We had the same issue: where to stay until we bought the house? In the end, we did it the other way around - we spoke with Ernest-Brooks International, and they connected us with landlords willing to rent short-term until our mortgage was finalized. It was an elegant solution that saved us from locking up money in a full-year lease.

knightstyle

Just to say we moved to Grantham a few years ago.  Really glad we did, just an hours train journey to London, decent shopping centre and lots going on in town and St Wulframs Church where we just had a big beer festival, now preparing to put a skating rink in the Church and a christmas tree festival, over 130 trees last year. I could go on....
PM me if you like for more info.