FTB in South East

[Summerbreeze1]

Hi my eldest DS has decided he want to buy his own house, he has been saving and with a mortgage can afford to buy something for about £190,000. The thing is we are in East Surrey and there is nothing he can afford around here. He is being sensible and realistic and knows he needs to look further afield. Workwise he doesn't work in a fixed place and can work anywhere from London to Brighton and west to east so he really needs to have access to the M25. therefore he is looking at areas in Kent, e.g. Around Maidstone because there appears to be cheaper properties around there.
We don't really know much about areas in Kent so I just wondered are there nice places where you can get a good house for your money and are there places to totally avoid?
Obviously from a mum point of view I don't want him to move too far away but that's just me ☺️ I'm proud of him for working hard to stand on his own two feet...

[gemsie009]

Hi

We live on the outskirts of London and have family who live in West Malling, Kent. We always think it's a lovely place to live whenever we visit, very friendly people and has a relaxed atmosphere. I couldnt tell you about Maidstone unfortunately as they never actually talk about it and we've never gone there.

[tissuesosoft]

Has he looked at Camberley or Aldershot? Canterbury in Kent is meant to be quite nice and easily commutable to London

[Summerbreeze1]

Thank you so much for your replies I'll have a look at west Malling and Canterbury and see what's available. He likes the look of a house in Chatham but I've looked at the crime statistics around that particular area and it's really bad 860 crimes in one month! 😩 will also look at camberley and aldershot but they might be a bit more expensive.

[scaredofthecity]

I would definitely avoid Chatham.

The traffic in Maidstone can be a nightmare so if he decided there he'd need to make sure he's the m20 side. Maidstone is ok but we decided it wasn't for us, it is a bit run down and too busy for us. The houses are mostly pretty small and parking can be very difficult depending on which streets you look at. But there is a lot going on, and it's not bad for shopping, plus the club's occasionally get some pretty big names if that's his kind of thing.

The area between Maidstone and Dartford is a bit hit and miss.

[Summerbreeze1]

Thanks scaredofthecity and others. It's really hard to know which roads/areas are decent and which aren't when you don't know the areas so is great to hear from people who do know.

[dontcallmelen]

Yy avoiding Chatham/gillingham & some of Rochester can be a bit ropey, Maidstone is fairly ok & some of the outlying villages are lovely bearsted is nice & has a station, some shops & couple of really nice pubs.

[triedandrusted]

I'm afraid you won't get anything for £190k in Camberley or Aldershot. Has he thought about going north of London? Bedford/Milton Keynes area? He might find something much nicer within his budget up there?

[Summerbreeze1]

Thanks so much for all your ideas. He's now decided that he can't afford a house in a nice area within his budget so looking at flats. Hopefully this will give him a lot more choice. Thinking Maidstone would be a good central place and quite a few flats within his budget. Does anyone have any knowledge of this area please?

[dontcallmelen]

Hi Summer I have a cousin who lives in Vinters Park, near maidstone studios, seems very happy I believe Allington/Peneden Heath/Barming/Bearstead & Loose are good areas, not that familiar with Maidstone town centre apart from fair amount of shops/bars/restaurants, I think the only place I have heard of that is maybe a bit dodgy is Tovil, but am no expert so could be wrong.
Lots & lots of new developments in & around Maidstone, probably best thing is to go & have a good reccy & get the feel for the area.

[Summerbreeze1]

Thanks dontcallmeelen that's a really good idea.