Buy a house up north or flat in London?

[oneminuteplease]

Not really aibu, posting for traffic.

Can only afford shared ownership on our salary. (Sahm for Atleast another 3 years)

It's either buy a share in a house, in either Warrington/Prestwich/South Manchester

Or buy share/rent to buy in W London,(where we currently live) the flat would be a 3 bed aswell

Or carry on renting our house in west London until I start work again and we can get a better mortgage deal?

2 toddlers!

Which would be the best decision?

Dh thinks buying a house whereas I'd be quite happy in an apartment but he's worried about the cost here in London!

[quote Jemimia]@Justcurious93

I have no idea why you are laughing emoji- as that poster said properties in nice south Manchester suburbs ain’t cheap. Please show me property in south Manchester that’s 3 bed detached for £200k- I’d bloody well buy it!
You can’t even buy property in Prestwich for that price any more!

If you’re talking Salford/ Bolton/Wigan yeah more like it![/quote]
Don’t buy in a ‘naice’ suburb then.
In London it’s impossible to get a house that isn’t a shoebox even in a substandard suburb for that price… that’s a reasonable distance to work.

Source : London escapee

@TractorsAndHeadphones

That’s fine and dandy but depends if that is what fits with OP’s expectations. It’s a different kind of lifestyle making the move from London depending on where they are going to live.

The PP point was that actually their money may not go as far as they might be imagining- and it sounds like though they would (obviously!) get a lot more for their money than in London that they actually can’t afford to live in 2/3 of the areas they have mentioned.

The OP seemed to insinuate that on a salary of £75k they would be able to live mortgage free in south Manchester- I disagree as someone with that household income who couldn’t afford to buy in south Manchester 😃I would have needed a ginormous deposit as a first time buyer.

I just think the OP (kindly) doesn’t actually know what options are actually available to them. I can imagine compared to London all property seems cheap but actually if they only have one income (which I currently presume is sub- 50k) unless they have a deposit they are not getting a 3 bed house in those areas of Manchester, shared ownership or no. There is also limited availability of shared ownership properties as compared to London.

www.sharetobuy.com/properties/162111/

I wondered if you might want to look in Cheshire OP- you’re not going to ah e the same public transport links but I can imagine the size and affordability of some of the houses would be very appealing in comparison to west London.

[quote Jemimia]@TractorsAndHeadphones

That’s fine and dandy but depends if that is what fits with OP’s expectations. It’s a different kind of lifestyle making the move from London depending on where they are going to live.

The PP point was that actually their money may not go as far as they might be imagining- and it sounds like though they would (obviously!) get a lot more for their money than in London that they actually can’t afford to live in 2/3 of the areas they have mentioned.

The OP seemed to insinuate that on a salary of £75k they would be able to live mortgage free in south Manchester- I disagree as someone with that household income who couldn’t afford to buy in south Manchester 😃I would have needed a ginormous deposit as a first time buyer.

I just think the OP (kindly) doesn’t actually know what options are actually available to them. I can imagine compared to London all property seems cheap but actually if they only have one income (which I currently presume is sub- 50k) unless they have a deposit they are not getting a 3 bed house in those areas of Manchester, shared ownership or no. There is also limited availability of shared ownership properties as compared to London.[/quote]
Having RTFT it seems that OP has fallen into the London trap of ‘north = cheap as chips’. That may be true for out of the way places with no jobs like Leeds, but not Manchester.

OP regardless of income you’ll struggle with no deposit(you haven’t said that specifically but implied from you buying a flat to save up) . I think you should hold off on any house buying for now.

Areas with good schools /transport links to the same are crazy expensive. Trafford which is full of grammar schools is an example.

As a pp mentioned - parts of Cheshire (e.g Warrington, where my newly married colleague just bought a family home) are affordable. But bear in mind that you need to drive and can’t just hop on a tube.

Another one here who lives in a trendy part of manchester. It aint cheap. Prices have gone crazy since I bought seven years ago.

North hands down. It's a no brainer really.

We live an hour from central London, theres just so much more potential. Also lived in Manchester which I didnt like.

I totally prefer Manchester to London. I've found the people are friendlier and there's still lots to do. PreCovid we went up 2 or 3 a year to see my son and his family, they don't live in the posh parts but I've never felt uneasy, like I did in London.

I'd say north, plenty of people bring up children in not london. Northern cities still have opportunities, culture, entertainment, facilities etc. I would be careful with shared ownership though, Manchester can also be expensive so you will need to choose the area wisely.

@Embracelife

Teenagers may be more grumpy ...and want to leave,at 18 to big city....but plenty in any city for younger children or countryside lifestyle if parents happy.

Ah yes Manchester that well known rural idyl

@Willyoujustbequiet

North hands down. It's a no brainer really.

^^This. Give your kids the gift of not spending a lifetime scrimping and saving just to stay in the area they grew up in.

But yes agree with the others. Unless you’re in a really sketchy area, Manchester is not cheap. Most of MN seems to think that if it’s north of Oxford you can get a four bed for 75k…
Even moston arguably the worst area in manchester you’re looking at 100k for the tiniest of two beds. And for a 3 bed semi it’s nearer 200k, and I’m no snob bur I wouldn’t want to be living there!

Having RTFT it seems that OP has fallen into the London trap of ‘north = cheap as chips’. That may be true for out of the way places with no jobs like Leeds, but not Manchester

Is there more than one Leeds? As the one I live in is pretty easy to get to and has plenty of jobs to go around 🤔

@kierenthecommunity

Having RTFT it seems that OP has fallen into the London trap of ‘north = cheap as chips’. That may be true for out of the way places with no jobs like Leeds, but not Manchester

Is there more than one Leeds? As the one I live in is pretty easy to get to and has plenty of jobs to go around 🤔

Great - send some my way. Do they also pay at least £50K? I’ve found plenty in Manc, loads in London (with 50K being the lower end) and only 2 in Leeds. And that’s over 6 months of searching in my field. Other jobs in Leeds offer me half my starting wage.

I take the point though - it is a sweeping generalisation. But comparing to London, Manchester and Glasgow are probably closest in terms of employment profile. It’s great that you have ‘a’ job and your husband can move to an office in the region but you also need to consider the number of competing employers.

Every time you move house if you own one, there are costs you cannot recoup. If you moved to Manchester, could it be a house you lived in for many years, as the children grew up? A flat might not be ideal.

Thanks everyone.

Regarding deposit - we have 40k saved up for deposit and fees.

I've not explained myself properly, I don't expect to be mortgage free straight away but a lot quicker than I would be buying a flat or even a percentage of a flat in w London. I actually looked at the affordability of the share in a flat we saw, and my husbands salary doesn't meet the minimum (45k) he earns 37.

I also have noticed the rise in prices, I think it's because a lot of my childhood friends have bought their council homes for quite cheap and done them up it's sort of gave me a skewed picture!

@MurielSpriggs

I'm just thinking where my children would be more thankful to grow up in! That's my main priority

Depends what sort of kids they are really, but I'd hazzard a guess that there's a whole lot more interesting things going on in London for kids than in Warrington.

That's a bit of a stupid comment - it's not like she's wondering whether to take her family to a rural village!

I grew up in a town just outside Manchester, it was brilliant - everything I could ever want socially without the ludicrous London prices and generally poor state schools.

However, it's a bit odd that OP can afford shared ownership in London AND up North - house prices are wildly different up North, you just have to be discerning. There are plenty of very low priced homes but it depends on where you're looking.

I take the point though - it is a sweeping generalisation. But comparing to London, Manchester and Glasgow are probably closest in terms of employment profile

I was more bemused about Leeds being ‘out of the way.’ You’d struggle to get more accessible than a city on the M1/M62 interchange. I believe we also have those new fangled train things with lines direct from London/Edinburgh/Manchester etc

@oneminuteplease

Thanks everyone.

Regarding deposit - we have 40k saved up for deposit and fees.

I've not explained myself properly, I don't expect to be mortgage free straight away but a lot quicker than I would be buying a flat or even a percentage of a flat in w London. I actually looked at the affordability of the share in a flat we saw, and my husbands salary doesn't meet the minimum (45k) he earns 37.

I also have noticed the rise in prices, I think it's because a lot of my childhood friends have bought their council homes for quite cheap and done them up it's sort of gave me a skewed picture!

Share schemes are usually for people with no deposit but high mortgage affordability. You’re in the opposite situation but the other way round.

A quick search of shared ownership 3 bed min properties in Manchester turned up 56 results (as opposed to 1000+ without these constraints). Of those several are in Cheshire(not actually Manchester but not too shabby) or in areas that aren’t known for good school catchments.

You might find one that you really like but your search appears to be severely limited. If you’re really set in specific areas then it might be nigh on impossible.

Your best bet IMO is to hold off until you’re also working. Have a look around now, something might pop up but If it doesn’t then switch to plan B.

*opposite situation goodness me why did I repeat myself

*also without these constraints means without shared ownership! Same number of bedrooms

Ah brilliant OP thanks for coming back.

That’s a great deposit 👍🏼

Tbh I don’t think you necessarily need shared ownership with that- looks like you could buy a house £150-£190k with that deposit and income!
Ok it’s not going to buy you a forever home in a ‘naice’ area but you can definitely stepping stone if you’d be willing to live a bit further out for a few years!

I would do that rather than shared ownership as it will be much easier to move on when you want to- you can set a five year plan to move after you start working again and choose a house where it’s perfectly livable but you can tart it up as you go.
There’s the long train from Manchester to Liverpool Lime Street that stops at every little station as well as Warrington- I’d have a look at stops there as well as on the Manchester to Southport line which stops at Wigan. Then you have an immediate rail connection for your husband to go into Manchester office but will encounter cheaper house prices.
I love rawstenstall area and you can afford a 3 bed terrace there and your husband can get the witch way bus into Manchester- don’t know if that feels too far out for you.

My shared ownership suggestion would be one of the ones in Cheshire West- Crewe, Winsford, Sandbach etc.