What would you do if the only houses you can afford are in "bad" areas? Buy or wait?

[Lostfirsttimebuyer]

I am 30 and have started househunting around Leeds for my first home.

My issue is that I recently moved to Leeds for my dream job and I have realised over the last few months of househunting that the only houses within my £240k budget are all in “rough” areas, that I keep being warned off living in. I had hoped that people were being overdramatic, but I have visited these areas on house viewings and haven’t felt like I would feel safe as a woman living alone.

My background:

• Buying on my own. I earn 50k. Single. No kids.
• My budget is approx £240k (I have £25k for a deposit, an extra £10k for solicitors & moving expenses and a £215k mortgage in principle).

My non-negotiables:

• I cannot drive for medical reasons, so need to live in a place within train/walk/bus of Leeds city centre.
• I don’t want to buy a flat (I have concerns about leasehold properties with their unregulated potential for service charges to soar and the difficulty of reselling leaseholds - I would not be happy to be a landlord if the flat was unable to sell, so don’t want to risk getting into that position)
• I don’t want to move outside of Yorkshire or change my job because I moved to Yorkshire specifically for this dream job - I have spent my entire career working my way up to get this job!

What would you do if you were me?
A. Buy a house in a bad area and grit my teeth through feeling unsafe for 5 years until I build up enough equity to buy in a nicer area (or meet a partner I suppose).

B. Keep renting and wait a few years to have a slightly bigger budget.
However, I am not convinced that my salary or savings will increase in line with house prices. There is potential for a promotion from £50k now to £65k in 3 years time and then potential for a further promotion 3 years after that. I could also probably save an extra £30k over the next 3 years. So that means I’d potentially be able to borrow £60k more due to that increase in salary, and have extra £30k on my deposit- so my budget would maybe stretch to £330k in 3 years time. But £330k is the price of the houses in not-rough areas at the moment! In 3 years time, those houses will have risen in price won’t they and I will still be priced out of them, and in the same situation but 3 years later, won’t I?

C. Wait to find a partner who will buy with me?
Seems a bit Disney princess to pin my living situation on waiting for a partner to come along, but yet sometimes I think if I just had a partner right now, we could have a £500k budget and not have to worry about all of this. But of course I have no real control in when a partner may come along and that could take years.

D. Continue to attempt to try and find a house in an area that isn’t rough, that perhaps is cheaper due to a long commute to Leeds?
It would need to still be commutable by train though as I cannot drive for medical reasons, and so I am really struggling to find anywhere and I am not sure if this is a dead end.
(If you’re from around West Yorkshire, ideas of places? Harehills, Seacroft, Beeston, Holbeck, Chapeltown are all places I haven't felt safe in and have been warned off. I’ve looked at houses in Headingley, Hyde Park Meanwood, but have heard so many stories of burglaries - I think I might have felt safe as a student in a house of 5, but don’t feel safe as a woman living alone. I have heard people say Garsforth and Woodlesford as places that are cheaper than Leeds itself, commutable by train and nice, but I am struggling to find more than 1 house in my budget there.)

E. Something I haven’t thought of?

What size house are you looking at?

Would it be possible to buy one that needs work in a pleasant area and do the work gradually?
Maybe look at something smaller.

You have to think of resale value and how difficult it will be to sell in a not so desirable area.

Find somewhere that needs a bit of work.

Would you consider having flatmates / a lodger when you buy? I did this, and it meant I felt less unsafe than living alone, plus the money helped! I lived further out with a longer commute (also don’t drive).

Hi I'm from West Yorkshire originally where have you been looking that you've been warned off?

Have you done the old registering with all the estate agents thing?

I lived in Leeds for 7 years and my Dad is from Roundhay.

Buy worst house on the best street and do it up slowly. Get a lodger for the 2nd bedroom. In 5 years you will have equity and probably a partner to buy in the nice area . Renting is just paying someone else's mortgage.

People will always need relatively cheap housing. If you buy in a cheap area you'll sell again no problem.

I understand how you feel as a single woman and I wouldn't push you to live somewhere you don't feel safe in. But is that reality or are you being judgemental?

If you don't drive that is really going to restrict your options I'm afraid. I had the same and chose to live somewhere considered 'rough' and it was fine. My neighbours were nice families of all ethnicities. Yes it was noisy, a bit scruffy, lots of litter. But there were loads of independent shops, you could buy anything you needed really on the main road and it was cheap. I bet these areas you are worried about are the same.

Or look for a maisonette in a nice areathat's an older build. Peppercorn ground rent and share of the leasehold, which is what I did.

You're looking innthe qrong places (unless you want a massive house).
This house in Saltaire is 5 mins from the train station, with a half-hourly service to Leeds (14 mins): https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/157038788?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

In the nicest possible way, you haven't looked very hard, or have spent too much time on Mumsnet so have been led to believe that the only possible place that is safe/bearable to live is north Leeds, which isn't true at all.

There's loads of places just south of Leeds (Robin Hood, Rothwell, Morley, Gildersome, Pudsey, New Farnley, Drighlington, Woodlesford, Oulton, Garforth, Whitkirk and likely many more) where you can buy a 2-3 bed house, commute to the city and feel perfectly safe for your £240k budget. I have a relative in one of the above areas and a house on their road sold for just under £200k a few months ago.

If that's too small, you can get a 3- bed on the near side of Baildon (so still within 10 mins walk of Saltaire Station) for under 200k in a safe area.

Saltaire and Baildon both very safe. Also look at Bingley- commute of about 20 minutes on the same train.

Don’t buy there if you’re sure it’s a bad area. Some of the houses we were looking at years ago not only halved but went even lower in value and people are stuck there. You’ll never have other options

But there's absolutely no need for her to buy in a bad area with that budget! There are plenty on good areas with houses priced below that, within 30 mins commute of leeds centre by train!

Two of my friends live in Apperley Bridge. Easy commute into Leeds. They love it.

DD lives on the Roundhay, Chapel Allerton, Moortown border in a two bed terrace near Gledhow Valley. She paid just over £200 in 2021. She has never felt unsafe where she is, it’s very accessible, buses within a ten minute walk into the city, all the bars and restaurants and and shops in CA. Her friend lives in a similar house in Rothwell.

house probably worth 220-230 now.

Upper Armley.

What area would you like to live in?

I started looking on Rightmove, but there's just too many to choose from. Here's one in Lofthouse, 3 bed semi for £240k. Bus goes past the end of the road to Leeds every 10 mins.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/157762415#/?channel=RES_BUY

Second the suggestion of Saltaire / Basildon as they are nice places with a good train service to Leeds.

Meanwood is not all bad - I have a friend who lives there and has never said anything about it being unsafe (they are near the Waitrose and it seems like a nice area).

If you look up crime rates, you'll see the UK does not really have a crime problem. It does have a poverty and inequality problem, but I can assure you that most poor people are very nice and normal.

The areas that have the property you think you want (white, wealthy) by definition will be unaffordable.

The cheapest area for houses in a short commute from Leeds is Castleford. Very nice people. But not many of those chi chi bars and cafes.

Oh gosh sorry yes you've already said! No do not buy a house in any of those areas.

Leeds is a big city and crim like any major city is high. One of my best friends has lived in meanwood over 10 years and never been burgled or had car broken into. I would advise the side of meanwood that's further away from town though.

You could also consider Wakefield - the suburbs of Sandal and Outwood are on the main line to Leeds you're looking about 18 mins from Sandal 14 ish from Outwood loads of trains on an am and eve. There's also a new build estate in Wakefield centre which looks quite nice which is right next to the the train station it's a nice little area of Wakefield centre.

There's also Shipley and Saltaire (Saltaire is nicer) which is technically in Bradford (which the city centre of is horrific) but there are some nice suburbs, both have a station with regular trains into Leeds - think it's about 20 mins. Both are quite lively areas with nice little shops and bars etc.

I have experience of some of those places OP.

I've lived in Chapeltown as a teenager and has no trouble. I have friends in Headingly. Also OK.

Holbeck is a managed prostitution zone. That's an order of magnitude beyond an ordinary "rough" area. Some very dark shit goes down there. That one I would definitely avoid.

My vote would be for Chapeltown I think. It is a rough area but it has some lovely old buildings and it's very handy for the city centre.

This isn't true - Saltaire is full of chi-chi cafes, populated with academics and the like.

Thought of Apperley Bridge, but have the prices not risen a bit high?