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Original poster

£250k commutable to London

91 replies

GothicRainbow · 03/02/2016 18:48

We're looking to buy a 3 bed house within commutable distance to London - ideally no more than an hour and a half each way on the train.

Our budget is £250k so we are struggling to find anything suitable in the current area we live in (Hampshire/Surrey border) and we are starting to consider looking further afield.

We have one DS (2.5) and one more on the way so schools, community etc is important.

Can anyone recommend good areas for us to begin searching??

OP posts:

Original poster

GothicRainbow · 03/02/2016 20:28

DH's office is closest to Kings Cross however he currently commutes into Waterloo and then cycles from there, so there is some flexibility in that sense.

OP posts:

BatteryOperatedBoyfriend · 03/02/2016 20:34

Bury St Edmunds? It's lovely there!

Artandco · 03/02/2016 20:38

Strood in Rochester is 34 mins to kings cross st pancreas. So if he works near there it would only be 45 min commute including walk each end

turkeyboots · 03/02/2016 20:39

You can get a lot for your money in Swindon. But commute is expensive at £7k ish a year.

StillYummy · 03/02/2016 20:43

Bedford?

slebmum1 · 03/02/2016 20:45

Blimey Laurie where are you finding 3 beds for 250 on Bromley?!

Cerseirys · 03/02/2016 20:45

A colleague bought in Letchworth last year. Apparently you can get a 3 bed with garden in your price range there, and it's less than 40 minutes on the train to Kings Cross.

WhatTheActualFugg · 03/02/2016 20:50

Hello OP. I love threads like this!!! Love a property / life solving question.

I would say you're best looking East.

Downham Market is about 1.5hr on the train in to King's Cross. It's a lovely market town in Norfolk, close to the seaside and on the same train line the Queen uses when she comes to Sandringham.

Plenty of 3/4 bed houses in and around Downham Market for £250k.

This new build looks like it's walking distance to the train station.

www.rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/property-57585668.html

or,

Ipswich. Big town (sore point, they haven't been made a city ). Just over an hour in to Liverpool Street. Also near the sea side. Not at beautiful as West Norfolk but perhaps you'd like to be closer to where you are now for visiting etc?

This is also very close the to train station

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-53171090.html?premiumA=true

Bearbehind · 03/02/2016 20:58

laurie it says 'ATTENTION BUILDERS. CASH BUYERS AND INVESTORS. REQUIRING COMPLETE REFURBISHMENT'

I'd pretty much guarantee that means it's unmortgageable in its current state. It's so bad you can't actually see it in the only photo.

OneThingAndThenTheNext · 03/02/2016 21:10

High Wycombe, get into Marylebone in 30 mins or so and grammar school system for secondary. Train from nearby Marlow go into Paddington.

RandomMess · 03/02/2016 21:16

Have lived in Surrey can I just say it's getting seriously depressing just how far you have to move away to get a property for £250k :( :(

Bearbehind · 03/02/2016 21:20

It would be interesting to know the costs of commuting from the places suggested- I'm guessing fast services will be pretty expensive for season tickets.

ThomasRichard · 03/02/2016 21:29

Any excuse for a Rightmove hunt...

Near mainline stations to Kings Cross St Pancras, decent, family-friendly areas & good schools:

Luton £235k

Luton £180k. A doer-upper but I'd buy it if I wasn't in the middle of buying somewhere else.

Kempston £250k.

Bedford £240k

Bedford £224k

Bedford £220k and mega-close to the station.

Bearbehind · 03/02/2016 21:30

Blimey Laurie where are you finding 3 beds for 250 on Bromley?!

It's a mystery cos there's not a single 3 bed house listed on Rightmove for that price in Bromley.

WhatTheActualFugg · 03/02/2016 21:33

Do you have anything positive to add bear?

IguanaTail · 03/02/2016 21:36

One in Bromley - maisonette though. And under offer.

Bearbehind · 03/02/2016 21:37

I said I didn't but was interested in the options, and the commuting costs associated.

I'm struggling with someone who suggested a complete hovel at the top of the OP's budget in Hemel, a property that doesn't exist in Bromley and then says they have £100k more to spend on a 2 bed property

Options like thomasrichards are really interesting.

VelvetSpoon · 03/02/2016 22:03

You'd definitely get something in the Medway area, even a 4 bed - as has been said, the high speed train (stops at all the Medway stations, and direct into Kings Cross) is very quick.

Medway isn't the best area. But some of the nearby, more rural, areas are nicer.

Kent has grammar schools, which is good if your DC gets into one (not so good if they don't, as the non grammar options are often not great...)

Just a few properties in the area: (hope the links work!)

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-39028014.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-35863764.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-39270213.html?premiumA=true

As has also been said, I doubt you'd get anything in Bromley (even the Downham/Grove Park side) or Mottingham for £250k now; prices have gone up by as much as £30k in recent months because of the rush to complete before 1 April. I know someone who is looking to buy in Swanley; 3 beds are going for £350k there atm, and everything is selling for £20-30k above the sale price....

Owllady · 03/02/2016 22:09

I wouldn't move to Luton
Kempston is fine but there is no train station there? And if you are happy to drive to the station then I'd look at beds villages, the wixams development etc

Bearbehind · 03/02/2016 22:15

If your train journey is say 45 minutes, and you have say a 5 minute drive from home and a 5 minute walk at the other end- would you class that as a 55 minute commute?

Realistically I'd allow at least 15 minutes for the first part of the journey to allow for parking etc so I'm already at over an hour before any train delays.

Maybe this is why I've struggled to find the location I'm looking for!

Oreganoooo · 03/02/2016 22:17

What about Wiltshire? Chippenham has a mainline into London and house prices are very reasonable. You can be in London in less than an hour and a half and the schools are also good.

ThomasRichard · 03/02/2016 22:18

Luton is great if you pick the area carefully. There's a lot for families: excellent sports facilities, good schools, the Chilterns, National Trust/English Heritage places, lovely parks, a lot of activities for school-age and pre-school children and it's a 30-minute train ride into central London.

Kempston doesn't have a train station but OP said her DH cycles and it's only 3 miles from Bedford station.

ThomasRichard · 03/02/2016 22:19

I looked at Wixams myself but all the open water terrified me with young DC and the school looked appalling.

EssentialHummus · 03/02/2016 22:22

Another vote for Gillingham / Medway towns, as a local landlord. You will get a stonking house for £250k. There are nice bits to it. People boak at the high street offerings but a) Sainsbury's deliver and b) there's so much else going for it.

Owllady · 03/02/2016 22:25

The school only opened a few years ago, so I have no idea :)open water worries me too!

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