To want to sell up and buy this house by the sea?

[caramara]

Lockdown boredom has set in and started looking for somewhere to buy with what I could roughly have in equity if I sold my house.

I know Jaywick is a bit rough (I'm the opposite side of Essex currently so know the area a little) but still, can it really be that bad? The idea of being mortgage free is quite appealing, and the house looks like it requires no work at all, plus I love the kitchen.

And I could walk to the beach!

the house

Please tell me I'm BU/ point out all the faults with my plan!

I think @caramara is using this thread almost as a way of thinking it all through, out loud. So she is bound to to & fro, contradict herself a bit and develop her plan. Maybe we should give her a bit of a break, eh?

Can you work/ get schools/ shop/ see friend and family/ hospitals/ airports anything else thats important to you from there? Add the bonus of lively sea and outdoor space to enjoy from your front door. It’s a yes from me.

What appeals, lots of things. Bear in mind I currently live in a terraced house in East London (effectively Essex, but I'm that part of London where we don't have a E postcode, but do have 0208 phone numbers. So it's easier to say London). It's pretty urban, not much by way of green space or nice scenery. But you are on a Tube line and it's easy to get to Central London. So given that's my situation, what appeals about this house is:

It's by the sea
It's detached (mid terrace living is no fun,trust me)
I like the style of the kitchen and the open plan kitchen/ family room type layout (which is something I can't really create in my current home without massive expense which I probably wouldn't get back when I come to sell)
I like the cute, quirky nature of it (the outside reminds me a bit of of a dolls House I had as a child )
It's got 2 bathrooms
It doesn't require any obvious work

Also the price. Its cheap enough that it would allow me to change my life, live mortgage free, volunteer, get a dog.

I've pretty much accepted its a no go. But it's given me some ideas and alternative areas that might work out.

I do get it though, 'the dream', my ideal house has been on the market 12mths, I love it! It's been reduced 3x till its come within the grasp of my affordability. Unfortunately I've also lived in the area long enough to know for a fact its flooded twice within the past 12yrs, and watched the grimness of the local fire department pumping the water out of the area. 😒 So it's a definate no... The idea is lovely, the reality is crap.

Go there, get a feel.

But also make sure you check things like insurability, mortgageability (even if you are a cash buyer you don’t want a property a bank wouldn’t touch), future proofing eg flood risks etc.

Head, not heart, is key.

Shame but Jaywick is the pits and the 'seaside' there isn't great. There's just a great big cement barrier to keep the tide out if I remember correctly.

It's tiny !

OP, this site may interest you

www.essexdaysout.com/essex-coast/

@Doubletree99, you are right, there is a sea wall that runs along the front at Jaywick and, I believe, some years ago the beach wasn’t much to write home about, but a few years back tons of sand was imported into Jaywick and the beach there now is very good. 😊

I meant to add that the sea wall was built to help prevent the flooding which had happened.

i so sympathise, my goodness, i wonder what you will decide, its exciting, i would not know how to make such a major decision.... to be sure that the right decision is made... how do you do that? is this house good enough for you and your money? best of luck

Jaywick is very rough not just a little the whole place is run down and looks like a town that has been forgotten about.
I wouldn't go rent free.
There has got to be somewhere else to choose. X

There was a programme about jaywick on the television, try to find it on catch up, it will be a big eye opener. X

It's the most deprived place I. The uk which prob means high crime and your property will likely stay the same price or drop. So if you don't like jt then you will be likely stuck there
Also non standard construction

I live in a town in North Norfolk (not Great Yarmouth) for not much more you can get a two bed house and I'm four miles away from the beach, lovely walks in my doorstep

Church Close, Overstrand
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-86216402.html

Beautiful north norfolk seaside village. Money left over to extend possible?
I live around here it's beautiful

I actually think the house is lovely. It has charm.

I’ve seen from a TV show that the area is really rough but the street looks nice. If I was you I would take a drive down there when you can to check it out and check the area out for yourself. Nothing to loose from doing so ;)

DO NOT live in Great Yarmouth it's hugely deprived crime ridden behind the seaside facade. Take jt from a local. My friend lives in Yarmouth it's awful

We lived about 18 miles from Jaywick, admittedly many years ago, but it was absolutely awful. Kind of place where you felt you had to lock your car doors as you drove through.
Of course, it may be very different now, though a recession and 10 + years of austerity later that’s probably unlikely.

Please do your research.

To be fair I did read the government invested 6.5mil in building actual roads in Jaywick so the the local community have declared it 'up and coming' 😊... Though to be also be fair my minimum for any area would probably be 'having roads' 😁

Jaywick has become a haven of the unemployed and unemployable do not move there

That YouTube video.., beyond grim. It looks like the house was sold in 2003 for 72k with the same layout, which seems to have been turned from a spacious 2 bed, rejigged to a 4bed... same pictures from 2003. So what would it look like 17 years later... I hope you are 100% moving there, but other places suggested seem like a good idea, although go stay in a place for a week before making a massive life event change and no back up plan. Good luck

Don't go to Jaywick, it's worse than you can imagine. Also, all seaside towns totally close down in the winter and tend to be very bleak and dismal. We used to live near Bude in Cornwall, great in summer, dead in winter. You'd be better looking for somewhere a few miles inland.

I think (just going off the photos) that the house looks cosy and has character. I could quite fancy living there. But if the area is as others say, and full of crime, then that would be a big no-no. And beach areas can be full of gangs of yobs at night.

I'm in the NE but I know Jaywick through a relative who couldn't wait to get out of there, it's a dump. If you want a decent house for £140k get yourself further north.