If you live in the SE of England, can you show me some links to nice houses for sale near you?

[bibbitybobbityyhat]

Asking for my friend who is moving back from the US. She is looking for a family sized 3 or 4 bed house with reasonable garden in a town, not village.

Budget is £750,000.

She is looking at Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex, Kent.

I love looking at property websites but don't know where to start as this is a very big brief, so thought MN might be able to help?

What about Essex? Good transport links and loads of value for that budget? Do they want villages? Near a station? Schooling? Narrow the brief and you'll have loads of us helping

Thank you but definitely not Essex.

Look around Petersfield, Chichester or Winchester. Lovely towns, good schools, with that healthy budget she'll find some great houses.

Can you narrow it down a little? If I had those funds I wouldn't want towns in Kent, more local villages. Does she need to be near particular schools, or transport links?

Agree with Sidge. Alresford (just outside Winchester) would fit the bill too, it's a lovely small market town.

She doesn't want a village. It definitely has to be a town with stuff going on. She doesn't want to have to get in her car for everything.

At the moment she's really open minded but doesn't know what sort of house she could get for her money (and neither do I really) so some examples would be great to show her.

If you look up the main train stops into London in Surrey and Hampshire that will give you the towns with the most facilities. Surrey and Hampshire can be very different town to town so it depends on how rural or City they want it to be. Some of the most desirable towns on the fast route into London can feel very rural compaired to those bordering London. It's a very mixed bag and I think you need more specifics from them.

Guildford?

This one in Guildford?
Guildford
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-55552978.html
Or this one in a similar area
Guildford
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-63632135.html
Or for a slightly different area
Stocton Road, Guildford, Surrey
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-45616740.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-57468988.html
This one is central Godalming which is a small town. It's got a high street but it's quite rural and more of a old market town. £750,000 doesnt get much for your money in a central location. It would get more for your money even if they was a mile out of town

This central Guildford which is a much bigger town and almost feels a bit more like a small city
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-63496961.html
Woking which is more built up and less rural
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-59590553.html
If you start going to places nearer London in central locations like Richmond I think the budget might not streach.

Guildford is lovely but I'm not sure I would want to live really centrally - traffic is a nightmare. Every thing is much nicer a short car drive out of the centre. Guildford is a big place and it's a mixed bag depending on the part of Guildford

I'd rather live in the centre, so you don't have to be se a car to go places. Most of those houses are near the Farnham Rd and Madrid Rd so you can get onto the A3 without going "into town". Anyway I didn't see any in that price range further out.

Avoid Petersfield if she is looking for a buzzy town with things going on. Not much going on and takes ages to get out to anything. Schools are good though!

Petersfield is lovely for families and has good rail links to London. Nice small town where there is a lot going on. Good schools too.

Chichester very nice, older population but excellent state schools. Good theatre, good rugby club and sailing etc. Nearer to beaches but longer to London. North of Chichester, Lavant and villages outside are best for your price bracket.

Re reading I'd go Petersfield or Emsworth as easy walking about - nicest Chichester family housing areas are a drive to city centre. City centre houses available but either below or above your price bracket.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-46120221.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-62484083.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-44147145.html

Does she need to be near a train station? I love the Kentish Weald. Lots of villages and activities in surrounding areas to main towns. Eurostar nearby to hop to Paris and coast only 30-1 hour away.

Tenterden
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-56050654.html

Cranbrook
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-56719090.html

Maidstone
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-43979091.html

Ashford
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-62512229.html

Does it need to be commutable to London, or anywhere else? That has a huge impact on what's sensible. Eg Chichester, lovely place to live, but if commuting I wouldn't want to be anywhere near that far out.

If commuting to London then it would be useful to know where exactly in London. If Working in West London then not ideal to commute from Kent which involve a tube journey across London. That could double the commuting time.

You could get something pretty good in Tonbridge, Kent for that budget. Excellent for commuting to London (35 min) and fantastic schools. Town is up and coming and lots for families nearby.

Thanks for the links so far!

Sorry, I should have been clearer, no it doesn't need to be commutable to London but within reasonable visiting distance for friends/family.

I think ideally she would live in London but her budget doesn't really stretch that far. It definitely must be a freehold house with a garden and more than two bedrooms.

She is coming from a very large city in the US and really wouldn't be at home in a village.

Schools aren't an issue either, she has one young adult child who will live with her for a while whilst job hunting.

Has she considered Brighton? Loads going on in Brighton, it's like a mini London.