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!

There was a scene in the drama about Brexit campaign where Cummings and co (Benedict Cumberbatch) sought to interview and analyse the views of some of the most economically deprived, hopeless desolate citizens in the UK. It looked very much like they filmed in Jaywick.

Go and see the house! It is minute, don’t forget that estate agents do clever stuff with camera angles to make rooms look bigger, the bath is not full size and the ends of the beds almost touch the walls! That’s my advice🤣

I'm Scottish, and live in Edinburgh. However ex husband and I moved down South after graduation; we lived in Essex, and he commuted to London every day. Anyway, some of the fondest memories I have, of spending long days alone with the children, involve Clacton beach. Sure, it was a bit tacky, but I bloody loved the place!

I'm Scottish too Dieu, and have lived in the SE so have been to Clacton. Clacton is not Jaywick. I have also been on a cheap static holiday to that coast and hadn't realised it was next to Jaywick and I can assure you it's dire. Abandoned sofas and burnt out cars in the streets which are not properly made up roads as they are private tracks. these 'houses' are just temp. fabricated sheds I think build as holiday chalets and have been taken over by unscrupulous land lords and others to house the homeless and others who's antisocial/dependency behaviours.

Yes I have fond memories of Clacton though it's some time since I last went there. We did a few caravan holidays there many years ago - happy times!

I think it's just the lure of a different way of life, this lockdown has made me realise I like being at home, and my daily walk would be far nicer if it involved a beach and a dog.

I'm not moving somewhere that doesn't feel safe, where I'm scared I'll get robbed, burgled or have my car stolen. Although you could say that about where I live (I've been burgled twice in 15 years although one wasnt strictly a burglary as it was someone I knew who was doing work here ). I'd have to research the mortgage aspect for resale, crime stats, what it would do to my insurance premiums etc for any area that I seriously consider moving to. My buildings and contents is about 350-400 a year now; I've heard of people in areas with high flood risks paying well into ,4 figures and having to go to specialist insurers...I don't fancy any of that. So all factors to take into consideration.

I've done a bit of reading about Jaywick (it's piqued my interest now) and it seems to be split into different parts, Brooklands is where most of the wooden buildings seem to be and the unmade roads, the part which some people call West Clacton (but it's really Jaywick) is proper roads and mostly standard construction homes but obviously still fairly cheap because they're in Jaywick. And then there's the bit in between where the house I'd linked to is.

Depends on personal taste because In my own personal opinion I would need to do a lot of work to the house to get it up to standard.

And I’m not sure id ever move to an area that I already knew wasn’t the best unless I literally couldn’t afford anywhere else.

I live in essex and theres no way I'd even drive through Jaywick , with my car doors locked . Literally up the road is clacton and that's better , my friend had just bought a 3 bed bungalow with massive garden and drive for £160k . Shes had no problems in clacton
But further on you've got maldon , brightlingsea etc which is far better but costs more.
You get what you pay for and although " I can get mugged / stabbed / burgled anywhere" I think that's more likely In jaywick than surrounding towns
Very deprived area with high unemployment and addiction

I grew up in Clacton on Sea - I escaped back to London in my early 20's. haven't been down since moving my Father away from there to sheltered housing ten years ago.

My parents and both sets of Grandparents moved there in the early 1960's - initially to Jaywick. My Grandfather initially lived very close to the sea, in what I assume was intended as a holiday cottage, and then later to a more 'solid' bungalow a bit further away from the coast.

My Nan (think Hyacinth Bucket) and Grandpop lived even further from the coast, it was Jaywick, but my Nan insisted on calling it West Clacton. She wouldn't open birthday cards or anything that had Jaywick on the envelope rather than West Clacton.
And that was 1960's.

I often think about moving back to the coast - but never Clacton, certainly not Jaywick; St Leonards maybe!

Walton on Naze is nice - not the town, but the Naze itself and the estuaries and backwaters - a lot of the coast had been eroded the last time I went down to walk there, but it is very beautiful.

I used to love Mersea Island, and St Osyth might be worth a look.

If you’re looking that way, look at Old Harwich. It’s lovely. Bit sleepy but fabulous buildings. Very cheap for what you can get with direct link into London under an hour on fast trains. Could never understand why it didn’t take off. Beautiful countryside within very few miles and Colchester and Ipswich are pretty good if you like shops (which I don’t 😁). Beautiful Suffolk coastline nearby and direct links to Europe from the port if you enjoy weekends away.

It's a no from me.

If you want a seaside location with no mortgage look up north, maybe Cumbria way.

Jaywick is a total dump.

@AmelieTaylor why are you particularly choosing to pick on me for saying what 99% of others on the thread have said? Do you have a problem with me personally?

Harwich looks like a good shout.
Some beautiful houses

This cute little cottage in budget
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-90626258.html

For Jaywick to change, and to "up and come" you need a change in fundamentals.

Thamesmead used to be out and out depressing, and I expect posters to reply saying it still is. However the last time I was there, on a bright sunny day, we saw lots of young people, many speaking Slavic languages, taking their small children for walks along the river. Thamesmede was cheap and mainly the preserve of renters who could not afford anywhere else. The big change is that Crossrail is coming to nearby Woolwich, so transport links are vastly improved and therefore attracting young owner occupiers.

Jaywick does not promise the same future transformation. Also if it floods, developers will not build new home for sale as they would not be mortgagable. And if transport and schools are poor, commuters are not interested, leaving most housing stock in the hands of cash paying landlords who are likely to maximise returns by focussing on HB tenants.

That house is nice enough of itself, but it's not really what I'm looking for unfortunately, I really want to be detached. Having looked at Harwich most of the properties are older style so mainly terraced etc. Plus of course that house is an auction listing so may go for way more than 90k. I'm going to go check the Harwich area out once we can move around again, and if I do really like it I might have to compromise my dream detached house for a semi or end terrace.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-88614953.html

What about this one in Clacton - needs doing up but then it will be exactly the way you like it

Harwich ... Very cheap for what you can get with direct link into London under an hour on fast trains. Could never understand why it didn’t take off.

What fast trains? As far as I can see the trains are 1:45 into London - that's why it's cheap, that is not realistically commutable.

GoatyGoatyMingeMinge

You’re right: there were direct trains into Harwich Quay when we lived nearby, that was some time ago though. My husband worked in London, city. He also sometimes drove to Manningtree (early morning, took 12 minutes) then under an hour into Liverpool Street. Perfectly commutable For most, would have though? It often took me longer to get home when I lived 12 miles out of central London,

Oh god I watched the benefits programme set in this town. Honestly OP, go watch that and then see if you still want to move there!

Saying that the place is a dump is too kind. I'd rather live out my days in a tent on the edge of the M25.

Please don’t do it. It is not a good area and I think you would have problems if you decided to sell. It is rough and run down. By all means go and look at different times. The grass is not always greener on the other side.

No sorry, you couldn’t pay me to live there. The house is grim too.

Be very careful! Suspect it may be boring - and depressing in the winter.

Isn't Jaywick subject to flooding? That alone would make it a no from me

www.clactonandfrintongazette.co.uk/news/18079418.fears-raised-flood-warnings-texts-jaywick-get-ignored/

Scarborough is absolutely beautiful and surrounded by beautiful countryside if you want to be mortgage free. There is no real work here though.