How far from London do I need to go to buy a flat for £160k

[Lillibetthecat]

Forgive me, just posting here for traffic.

Have a flat in London that's being currently rented. Tenant stopped paying, has wrecked it in the process too and I'm taking him to court next week. However I'm fed up with the stress of it all, whilst I'm paying my mortgage on the flat and bills.

So, after the tenant is evicted, I'm thinking of selling it and buying a property somewhere mortgage free, if I can. The equity would be about £160, possibly 5-10k more. How far do I need to go away from London to buy something for this price? I think I'd have to go further North rather than South? Somewhere that is well connected to London, would that be too much to ask?

Here are over 3,000 results (!) for the East of England, focusing on coastal areas.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?minBedrooms=1&partBuyPartRent=false&keywords=&sortType=2&dontShow=retirement%2CsharedOwnership&viewType=LIST&channel=BUY&index=0&maxPrice=180000&radius=0.0&retirement=false&locationIdentifier=USERDEFINEDAREA%5E%7B%22polylines%22%3A%22_xsvHgetE_%7CxAzhyBu%7Dh%40%7ElEscb%40sdkAy_%60%40%7Dc%7C%40ozJgwsAyrm%40scA%7BgS%7CeB%7DaYrvdAg%7D%7D%40%3FhrW%7DflArsf%40spd%40%60vl%40hoF%7Egn%40%7EvXb%7Bm%40%7Cj_Ado%5Dh%7DLzsC%7Cnr%40lh%60%40tjDja%5DquaBtvMucArp%5C%7ElEzdQ%7Cyh%40huAtmT%22%7D

Isn't Stansted Mountfichet basically the high street on the other side of Stansted airport's boundary fence?

Newark on Trent is about 1 hour 25 minutes from Kings Cross, Grantham is about an hour from Kings Cross via train. Quite a few properties on Rightmove within your budget.

I hate to break it to you, but tenants like this don’t leave after the first court hearing. They know all the tricks. I do hope it’s different for you, but just trying to be realistic.

Pretty much so not a holiday location unless you want to get a cheap flight. It has its own train station though and is quick to London, good schools and is a nice high street if you don’t mind flight noise.

His contract is coming to an end in 2 months time so hopefully that will help. I know it's not going to be easy!

The castle is also cool

You'll get somewhere in either rural or coastal Norfolk or Suffolk but they won't be the most directly connected places to London.

Hailsham or eastbourne, East Sussex. flats around £160,000.
Roughly an hour to London.

Have a look at Biggleswade and Sandy, both on the main railway line into Kings Cross / St Pancras, and also close to the A1. There is also Bedford, with a rail line into St Pancras.

I'm in Nottingham and there are definitely 2 and probably 3 bed houses available for that. Nowhere near as picturesque as rural East Anglia but directly on the M1..

That sounds very inexpensive. I am in Australia & have a similar amount of money to invest. Why is this area so inexpensive, I hope you don’t mind me asking ?

If you want an investment property then an area like Hull will see and is seeing property prices rising, this is an area on the up.
Or look at holiday locations and let it as an AirB&B or similar for a greater return

I live in
PB
Dedfo not a holiday destination 🤣

Due to the position of the village in relation to the runways it gets very little noise and isn’t overflown - it’s a lovely village 40 mins from Liverpool Street.

Plenty of choice here - and in Essex

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?searchLocation=Jaywick%2C+Clacton-On-Sea%2C+Essex&useLocationIdentifier=true&locationIdentifier=REGION%5E13647&radius=0.0&_includeSSTC=on&maxPrice=160000&index=0&sortType=2&channel=BUY&transactionType=BUY&displayLocationIdentifier=Jaywick.html

@Lavenderfarmcottage its not especially attractive and it is a lot of ex mining communities.

It isn't far from Stratford which is good for tourism, Warwick and Leamington Spa are niace parts that are close too but the nearer you get to them the more expensive you get - North Warwickshire is particularly affordable.

There are lots of houses in Lincolnshire for £170k and under.

Some parts are nicer than others, obviously.

There are direct trains from Grantham to King's Cross in a little over an hour.

I think I'd have to go further North rather than South?

@Lillibetthecat - I think that is too simplistic. There are many areas in the North where your budget isn't enough and clearly areas in the south where it is.

I’m hoping this is a joke. You do not want to buy a holiday home in Jaywick

North Oxfordshire/Cotswolds?

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/155939318#/?channel=RES_BUY

I'm an ex-Londoner who moved out to Gloucestershire about 25 years ago.

There's plenty around Gloucester/Tewkesbury that you could get for your budget, including houses. London is an easy trip - two hour direct train into Paddington, or you can drive down either the A40/M40 or the M4.

We are on the edge of the Cotswolds so it's a popular tourist area. You could even move closer into the Cotswolds and still pick up a flat for your budget.

It's lovely out here and lots of places for tourists to visit. If they want to go shopping, Birmingham is a short train ride (less than an hour by car) in one direction, and there's Bristol in the opposite direction.

When I first moved, I used to commute into my work in London for 2 days a week (stayed overnight). It's a pretty simple journey, by train or by car but once you're here, it feels like worlds away from the city!

No no no no no. Please don’t do this.

Holiday houses stop local people being able to live in their home towns and cities.

Please don’t fuel this issue.

@girljulian haha, cross-posted - great minds!

What is your priority? A holiday rental or commutable to London, quite different search parameters?