House with sea view for £150k!

[MiddleagedBeachbum]

I know IABU a little…. But I didn’t think it was possible to buy a house with an amazing sea view in England for £150k and I’ve just done it!!

It’s a gorgeous white fronted, 4 storey, 5 bed Victorian terrace, 200 meters from the beach in NW Cumbria, only 15 mins into the National Lake District Park.

I’ve been a single working mum for the past 20 years, held down a mortgage solo all this time and worked my arse off whilst raising my boy.
Now he’s 20 I can finally give him the childhood I wanted to 🤣

In 2022 I sold my house ‘down south’ at a peak price, and then waited and used the equity to buy this house outright. It’s been a scary leap as I was born and bred down south and had never been further north than Manchester until 2021 when I first came to the Lakes.

The house had been sat on the market for 6 months and so I ended up with 18% off the original asking price!

I wanted to share this, because so many people, like me, post pandemic are looking for a better quality of life and a simpler way of living - I feel I’ve found heaven here! Cost of living is cheaper up here, slower pace of life, strong community feel, tonnes of free things to do - sea, lakes, mountains!!

i’m still pinching myself that it’s actually happened, after all these years I can finally relax and enjoy life.

Except the house is a renovation project so that’ll keep me busy!

I hope I don’t upset anyone by posting, as I know all too well how hard it is when you’re struggling financially - in fact, I worked out if I hadn’t of sold in ‘22 I now wouldn’t be able to afford my mortgage so feeling so grateful I did.

Just wanted to share to inspire others and to share my good news that I can’t share in real life!

That's amazing . You were lucky you had a place to
Sell down south tho and can buy outright .
Good luck with renovations! I love the lakes .

Congratulations and well done! Living near the sea is so wonderful, good for the soul!

Congratulations and I hope you’ll be very happy in your new home. Good luck with the renovations.

Congratulations, OP! How wonderful!

Please don't apologise, it's always great to hear positive stories of when things work out for ordinary people, these days. Not that I'm saying you're ordinary, lol, but you know what I mean!

Congratulations! Have you retired, or are you working remotely? Usually the reason housing is cheap in these areas is, despite the natural beauty, the jobs aren’t well-paid.

That sea view is lovely. DH dreams of moving to the sea, but unfortunately while he works fully remotely and can live anywhere, I don’t and can’t.

Ahhh amazing!! That view is absolute gold, it'll be so lovely waking up to that every morning. What a fantastic outcome!

How lovely! Congratulations ☺️

Thank you everyone - very kind of you and it’s really made me smile!!

To answer some questions:
I don’t have an Insta yet but have been taking loads of photos and videos, as I’m thinking of documenting it - I’m even wondering how the whole influencer thing works purely as I read that one person got a brand new kitchen for free! Lol!

But to be honest I rarely post on any social media other than Mumsnet so will need to work on my online social skills 🤣

The house is in a place called Harrington - just down the coast from White Haven which I agree is one of the best kept secrets, looked at some amazing properties there too, but I loved in Harrington the smaller community and larger beach / outdoor areas.

I’ve already started buying from the local butcher down the street, and am going to join various community activities :)

Just to give another perspective - this is also the state the house was left in! The sellers told me a week before completion it was ‘sold as seen’ and they weren’t removing anything in the house. I’ve already done two tip loads but as a plus, I gained a new sofa, wardrobe, large fridge freezer, dishwasher and a fab turquoise handbag!

Excellent! Well done 👏.

Harrington! Ohhh. Lovely.

Fabulous views! I'd love to live by the sea!
Enjoy your new home OP

Congratulations OP, I’d love to live by the sea too. I hope you find lots of happiness there and it remains a dream come true for you.

You jammy bugger, I’m jealous! I’d love a sea view like that 😁

Congratualtions OP, this post has made me smile :)

Well done mara!

This has made me smile. Enjoy every minute of that view x

@MiddleagedBeachbum take a look at the insta account called whathavewedunoon - it’s a couple who bought a wreck in Dunoon, Scotland, and documents its transformation.

https://instagram.com/whathavewedunoon?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Thank you so much for the lovely comments - it really does mean a lot!

Yes, I know I’m very lucky to have had a house I owned to be able to sell.
I bought my first house on an interest only mortgage, luckily made a small bit of money on that one, and then purchased in Bicester about 8 yrs ago when I saw prices were going to go up there. Bought a total renovation project - I went without bathrooms and kitchen etc and did it mostly myself. Then the pandemic hit and Bicester prices rose further and luckily I found the Lakes and saw my way out.

I only had max £150k and as this house had been up at £189k originally it was out of budget so thought it was out of reach for me. I offered in Easter and the sale has just completed so I’ve been terrified for the past 6 months the sale might collapse! I’ve not really shared as I’ve been too worried about jinxing myself!

Brilliant OP best of luck!

Well done. Only 10 miles away in Cockermouth you'd pay three times as much for a similar property (and no sea view), and a lot more than that down the coast in Ravenglass.

The Cumbrian coast is very underrated. Doesn't have the cliffy drama of the the East Coast, but it has a charm of its own (and far fewer visitors!).

Oh my goodness I miss my family and friends so much!
especially my sister, and her children who lived around the corner.

However, I’m determined to make my house a fun holiday house people can come stay at and visit, so they love coming up here and we get lovely holiday time with people.

But yes, it’s been really really tough moving away from my home county. My son started at the local college here and has found his group of friends and loves it, he said he’d never want to move back south. I have to say, the teens here do seem more innocent and free than down south.
For instance they often all go to beach together to hang out on an evening etc. It was another reason I wanted to move, to give a more healthy way of living for my son.

Love the Cumbrian sayings! Such fab accent and local lingo 😍

How amazing! What a happy post, I can hear the joy in it. I am genuinely happy for you! Congratulations 😊