Advice re buying a property and local area

[purplesmiler]

Myself and my OH are looking at property with a view to buying in the coming months. We have seen quite a large property, less than 10 years old and well presented. The house is a fifteen minute walk from where we rent at the moment, it is on a new build estate which was part of a regeneration project in the middle of a traditional council estate. The area isn't seen as highly desirable but has much improved since the regeneration.

I am slightly torn because I grew up in a similar area only a short drive from this property so am aware of some of the social problems that may arise in the local community as well as how much of a close knit community it can be.

Basically I would appreciate views on is it worth living in an area with some of these kind of issues to gain a bigger property that would be our long term family home or should we focus on a smaller property in a more desirable area?

Any advice appreciated.

Only you will know if you could actually live in this area - crime, 'snob' value vs the size of the house.

Are there any other downsides such as school catchment, traffic, access to shops, facilities?

From a purely financial point of view, when you came to sell I would suspect it would take longer to sell and that there would be quite a strict ceiling price (meaning that you risked over-improving and spending more money on it than you'd ever get back).

I think the saying "location location location" is apt. I think it's a gamble - I don't think areas can shrug off a reputation very easy even with regeneration. I think I'd be concerned that it would be a poor investment, that it wouldn't hold its value or even increase like a property in a desirable location would.

Although a bigger property would be a draw, I'd go for location every time.

There are many factors that will affect the property that you finally choose, and you will have to figure out together what's most important for you. For us it was the HOUSE, not the location. We bought in a less desirable area to get more for our money. We had no firends nearby but knew for us the house was give us more enjoyment. We had spent lots of our youth going to restaurants, bars, clubs and were finally settling down, so the area worked for us. 8 years later and the change in property prices and area means we now have a good number of friends nearby. However if this didnt happen we still would have been happy with the house as we made new friends in the area too.

Out of curiousity...

How long have you been looking for? Have you seen the alternative smaller but cooler area properties?

How soon do you plan on having a family?

Is this 'the house'? Would you be sad if you don't get this?

Thank you very much for your advice. The house when bought new cost the current owners 25k more than they are asking for it but that was also when house prices were higher.

The area has lots of local amenities within walking distance and the local school is 5 mins away and rated well. We are about to start TTC#1. Family are very close by but not within the estate. We have owned property before but this is our first together.

The house seems really good so far but we need to go again. It's making me smile. It would be a long term purchase.

Safety is a priority the things on my mind are dark evenings coming home from work but I also know that's a risk anywhere I guess it's the history of the area.