Should we buy this house? Help!

[picknmiss]

Hi there, my second thread on a similar subject sorry! But I'm getting very confused and need some objective views please!

DH and I are first time buyers, we have a small deposit, been looking for a year and finally settled on an area in Surrey where we can get a great house - rather than closer to London where we'd get a smaller house but a shorter commute. We have an 18 month old DS.

So, the issue is we found a house we love BUT the commute will be 90 mins each way including nursery drops (I think I can manage it, no stranger to long commutes), the house is on a reasonably busy road and there's a row of electricity pylons about 250m from the house.

Are we mad to even consider buying it? It's not cheap and there's been a number of offers so we won't be getting a bargain either...

[Mumsywumsywoo]

Can you say where? It helps people give better advice if they know roughly where you are.. 90 mins is a LONG time and I'm assuming you are not taking into consideration traffic jams, cancelled trains, bad weather etc... There is (obviously) a reason houses are more expensive closer to London...

[MrsLettuce]

No, I really wouldn;t do that. Not for a house on a busy road close to pylons. Crikey.

A smaller house with a shorter commute would be much, much more sensible all round.

[BananaPie]

If you are unsure enough to ask a bunch of ransoms on the Internet, it probably means your heart isn't in it and you shouldn't buy it!

[picknmiss]

Hmmm you're probably right it's in Woking

[Kidnapped]

90 minutes each way? Christ no.

Would that be for both of you?

[picknmiss]

Yes both of us! Oh dear. My DH is dead set on this house but it seems my fears are well founded!! Is it the commute that seems terrible? I'm more worried about the pylons and potential health risks

[fiorentina]

I commute 90 minutes each way from
near there, it's tolerable but not enjoyable.

House wise though it does sound a compromise?

[DarcieS]

What's wrong with being near electricity pylons?

You described it as a "great" house vs a smaller house, a house is a huge long term investment so make sure you love the house you buy.
A few years down the line how will it work with a school run etc assuming your job doesn't change? make sure you love the area and it'l find a way of working.
We have bought a house 50m from a primary school, 4 miles from the station for my commute, and it's in a village in the middle of nowhere! But it's where we want to raise a family so we'll make it work :)

[marshmallowpies]

The pylons and road would put me off, the distance depends on what you think you could cope with and how much you travel at the far end. I had friends in Woking, one commuted all the way into the city (and Canary Wharf before that) but that was before he had a family, getting home late wasn't a problem for him. He has moved further back to London since getting married.

My other friends have stayed living out that way but one commutes to a job in West London so a much shorter commute time and the other works locally.

That's the other question - how many years do you think you could sustain the commute on a daily basis? Any scope for either of you looking for jobs outside London once you've settled in the area or potential to work from home one day a week?

[picknmiss]

Oh actually DH commute would be shorter but still an hour (my office is in the most awkward place possible unfortunately)

[Honeyandfizz]

No, honestly don't do it. I used to commute from one side of the city to the other through gridlock traffic with two preschoolers. It was very hard, they were tired, I was tired. We moved in less than a year.

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

Hiya! We're around Guildford way, DH commutes to East London so about 90 mins. He doesn't seem to mind it, but we bought intentionally where his nearest station means he's pretty much guaranteed a seat in the morning - everyone gets on at the next stop and it's standing only from there. He gets 3 hrs a day on the train, but he spends it working, watching telly, reading, dozing - he doesn't see it as wasted time.

Does mean he doesn't see DS 4 days a week (comes home early then works the evening 1 day a week).

But I am just glad to be far away from London and have a good sized house, personally.

Just my perspective as our situation seems similar.

[Pipbin]

The commute times... Are they on a good day? Because there will be times when the train is delayed, you get caught at work and miss the train.
How long are you likely to be in these jobs?

The busy road would be the no for me.

[Toomanycats99]

I commute 1.5 hours each way. I do 3 days a week in the office and if I have to do 4 I'm knackered. The other thing Is how much leeway do you have on nursery times? I wouldn't do a commute that long unless I had at least 1 if not 2 other options to get back if the trains are having issues.

[picknmiss]

I should have said I only work three days a week and there is scope for one of those to be at home. I do think if we went for another DC I'd have to find work nearer home. We do love the house so maybe you're right and we'll make it work.

I thought Pylons were a potential health risk but seems the evidence is unclear

[anotherdayanothersquabble]

No. Three hours each day is huge! Also nurseries often open at 8 and shut at 6 which makes your working day at best 9 to 5 with a bare knuckle ride to and from work unless you and your husband can share drop offs and pick up.

Life will get more complicated as your son gets older, unless it is a short term thing or you could get a nanny instead then I would re-think.

[Kidnapped]

Are your jobs flexible? Can you work from home? Work shorter hours one day and then longer hours the next?

If not, you'd both be leaving around 7am and then getting back around 7pm in the evening. Every weekday. Doesn't matter how "great" the house is, you'd rarely be in it.

I'd say it is doable if one of you is doing it, but not both of you.

I think you need to have a long hard look at what is important to you. Are your jobs unique/rewarding/brilliantly well-paid/couldn't get another job in another city?

Do you want more children?

[DarcieS]

There's always something someone sees as a health risk - pylons, wifi, gas supply to a home, germs on public transport.
Basically it's about what worries you, not what others fears are. If you're not that fussed about them, don't let it affect your decision.
If you're okay living by a relatively busy road then pylons shouldn't be a problem.

[DramaAlpaca]

I put up with a 90 minute commute until I had children. Then it soon became too much.

The busy road would put me off too, and I wouldn't like the pylons in such close proximity.

[picknmiss]

Yeah 90 mins if everything works smoothly so potentially a lot longer on a bad day. Ugh I'm thinking this is a big No!! I wonder if a childminder would be more flexible? I really don't mind the travel, it takes me 75 mins at the moment but our nursery is open 7-7 so lots of flexibility.

[allegretto]

I did a 90 min commute for 10 years and it was terrible and only managed to make it work ae DH was closer - don't do it!

[annandale]

90 minutes? Urgh. Get another job or don't do it.

[Kidnapped]

Sorry. Cross posted.

The pylons won't be an issue. You won't be at home long enough to be affected by any radiation.

At 3 (or maybe 2) days per week for you, it is not too bad.

But for your DH, 3 hours per day is just huge. All that wasted time.

Could you move out of London altogether? Find jobs in any other city in the UK and the cost of housing/length of commute is going to drop considerably.

[anotherdayanothersquabble]

Three days, possibly two with your DH being closer makes a difference!!

I don't get the impression that you love the idea of the pylons though...

[fiorentina]

A lot of people who commute use a nanny not nursery for the longer hours and flexibility in terms of trains. Most nannies locally expect 7-7 as hours I've found.