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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask would you buy a fab house in a crap area?

166 replies

BebeRainbow · 22/09/2018 23:08

Or would you rather buy an average house in a naice area ? Just looking for the General consensus really

Looking at moving house, as ours is too small and I don’t like the area, it really is a shit hole. if we move to a better area we won’t get much at all for our money

But in areas that are ... less nice (but probably slightly better than where we are) you can get something pretty special fairly affordably.

We are in the midlands

OP posts:
NTitled · 23/09/2018 12:48

Nice area every time.

FermatsTheorem · 23/09/2018 12:50

The "Hackney" effect is an interesting one. When I bought my "nice house in a rough area" it wasn't actually terminally rough. There were two areas I could have bought in, given the money I had, and I got unlucky. The other one became gentrified, mine nose-dived.

In the absence of a crystal ball, you can't tell what your "rough but I think I can just about cope" area is going to do. For every Hackney, there's probably an area like the one I bought in.

Random18 · 23/09/2018 12:54

Moved in with DH in a house I never liked and an area I hated.
I didn’t even want my name put on deeds.
Moved a couple of years later to a new build in a slightly better area. Still not for me though and we moved about 6 years later.

Now in an area I like and I am so much happier.
All 3 have been in Midlands but the area I am in now has such a different feel from the previous areas and no plans to move again

hammeringinmyhead · 23/09/2018 12:55

It might begin with T and end in bridge. Maybe.

It was definitely the only place around here we could afford a 4 bedroom townhouse!

HeronLanyon · 23/09/2018 12:55

I have experienced both sides of this. I strongly veer to location over flat/house. After one particular experience I would very much prefer (if I were looking again) eg a small flat in great area than great house in dodgy one.

Racecardriver · 23/09/2018 12:57

If you but a house in a bad area you are pretty much trapped in doors aren't you? Unless it was a 2500 sqf plus house with a huge garden I wouldn't consider it. Currently living in a flat in the canter of a lovely town. I am far happier than I was living in a house with a large garden in suburbia.

OneOfTheGrundys · 23/09/2018 13:01

If you like the ‘naiceness’, go for that area. There’s lots of different sorts of naice and if it’s the sort you enjoy (in my case, countryside, gardens and animals) then go there. I’ve lived in a nice house in a shite area that gentrified fast and I just didn’t like the type of posh that arrived. So we moved...

OneOfTheGrundys · 23/09/2018 13:01

So location ime.

PickAChew · 23/09/2018 13:07

Unsafe, no. Not desirable, yes. Doing that enabled us to save for a house in a more desirable area. We didn't have to factor the most sought Fter schools in, as the boys are in special schools, so still saved a good chunk. We also got more space for our money buy buying on a (not congested) main road which actually has its advantages in winter and we're right on the major bus routes for this side of town. Some people would rather have the house 2/3 of the size for the same money, in the nearby cul de sac.

Most people have to make some sort of compromise when they buy. You need to work out what's acceptable to you.

BigFatCurlyHeadedFuck · 23/09/2018 13:08

Having lived in a horrible area it made our lives absolutely miserable. We have now moved to a very average house in a much nicer safer area and feel much better for it.

dingdongdigeridoo · 23/09/2018 13:08

We once moved to a nice house that was on an estate known for being a bit rough. Not stabbings and gangs level of rough, just not as desirable as other areas. Rent was reasonable for the amount of space so we thought it’d be fine. We lasted 9 months. The neighbours son became a drug dealer in that time and people were screaming and shouting in the garden often until the small hours. Our cars were vandalised. When I got home after a long day at work there were often men hanging around the green outside our house smoking weed. I never felt like we were in imminent danger, but it just got really exhausting to deal with lots of little incidents all the time.

We now live in a tiny house in an expensive village which is at least quiet and family friendly!

Enjoli · 23/09/2018 13:14

I agree with posters who say go for the worst house in a nice area rather than the best house in a bad area.

Saying that...

Some of the grimmest areas are in or soon to be in the process of gentrification and if you get in now, you could make a fortune in the future.

You need to look at things like gov't investing in infrastructure, transport links or plans to create more, plans for future development (workplace campuses etc), whether the artists and creatives have started moving in, etc.

Before I get flamed, this is not an argument in favour of gentrification. It kills local communities. But it's another perspective to think about.

stopfuckingshoutingatme · 23/09/2018 13:47

Can you target a cheaper ex local authority place in a nicer area ? That’s always been my approach .

stopfuckingshoutingatme · 23/09/2018 13:50

My area by the way has not gentrified one iota since we moved ! It’s fine here but not massively MC at all (which tends to be the yard stick of gentrification)

But it’s families and people are well behaved

user1457017537 · 23/09/2018 13:51

Lots of formerly “crap” areas are now highly desirable.

NerrSnerr · 23/09/2018 13:59

We bought a better house is a less sought after area. It's not dreadful but not quite as posh as neighbouring areas. We basically have a council estate in the village. It works for us and got so much more house for our money. We have friends in the village wanting to move to posher villages but they'd have to downsize so are not keen.

PoisonousSmurf · 23/09/2018 14:02

Area is always MORE important than the house. Otherwise you'll start dreading going home.

Housingcraze · 23/09/2018 14:03

Would rather live in nice area with small house

TrickyKid · 23/09/2018 14:04

No. We have a small house in a really nice area.

TheNoodlesIncident · 23/09/2018 14:04

I bought my first house in a rough area because it was quite simply all I could afford (my annual salary was 8,100 before tax to start with (it did go up over the years) and my first house was 20,000. The area was close to transport links which I needed for work and not far from shops, library, doctors, etc. I was utterly miserable there, the people were a mix of OK and really really rough... there were murders associated with drug crime and the like. I brought a book back to the library late and the librarian said I could pay the fine in instalments: the fine was under three pounds.

I stayed in that general area for about 15 years but we have managed to move to a better area - if you had Rough, Average and Expensive/Posh then this would definitely be average. There are still people going home from the pub noisily, but there are no fights and people using your garden as a toilet. Nobody eats their evening meal on a dirty mattress on the pavement - with one chap using their wheelie bin as a table - nobody has vandalised our car or garden. Kids don't use flat roofs as a playground. There aren't needles in the children's playpark and I have yet to see a primary aged child smoking. (And of course your neighbours could be nice or nasty anywhere.)

Our quality of life is just so much better. You can't put a price on that, you really can't. So no, I wouldn't buy a house in a rough area if I could avoid it, however nice the house was.

tissuebox · 23/09/2018 14:09

user1457017537 this is true but it’s a gamble. Think of Elephant and Castle in London, they have thrown millions at it and it never improves. Kings Cross, same thing and is slightly better but will take another generation to lose its seedy image. The Southbank, used to be a homeless cardboard city in the 80s where the IMAX is, has changed its image in 40 years. It’s now a trendy place to live and the new shell centre development is making it even more so.

You can be lucky but it takes over a generation to start to lose a bad reputation and some places never do.

Kaystar89 · 23/09/2018 14:12

@BobLemon let me know if you find a way 😂 having relocated from up north I'm currently in a nice area in the delightful town Shlansfield. We looked at where you want to be but just way out of our price range 😞

Ahistoryofbees · 23/09/2018 14:13

I think it depends on what you're used to and how long you intend to stay there.

If you're used to rougher areas than you'd be moving to then it'll feel like an improvement. And if you plan to stay there for a long time then you can get involved in local things and try to improve the area over time, which is a slow process.

I personally wouldn't do it because I grew up on an estate where I didn't fit in and was desperate to get out. I knew people whose homes were vandalised, who were mugged walking home. The playground was constantly vandalised. I was sexually harassed. I never felt safe or comfortable, so I feel VERY prejudiced against living anywhere like that again.

BangingOn · 23/09/2018 14:22

It depends on what the problem is with the area. We live in the north of a county which is less leafy than the south, but our house is gorgeous and the nearest village is lovely. We have money to for private school as our mortgage is smaller.

Cornishclio · 23/09/2018 14:39

Average house in nice area every time. Location is everyth8ng. You can improve the house but not the area.

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