Buying first house under £300K

[AndreeaG]

Hi there,

After years of renting we are finally looking for a house to buy. So being FTBs, we really need a second opinion.

The property will only be for myself and my partner and will need to commute into London - Shoreditch area (Liverpool St / Shoreditch High Street) daily with a max journey time 1h 30min. In terms of a season ticket, we don't want to spend more than £300 - £350 per month.

We are looking for a 2-bed house with a garden to be situated within a safe area and close to public transport.

Many thanks in advance for all your help

Have you looked at Harlow, Chelmsford, Bishops Stortford, Brentwood. Most of Essex will be affordable in that budget for a lovely two bed cottage/terrace with garden. Hertfordshire will probably be largely too expensive.

I saw your other thread.

If you wanted to keep your commuting costs down, you could buy in some parts of zone 5 and 6 that are actually very safe and nice places to live.

Some examples here:

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-82702478.html

Coulsdon is in zone 6, on the edge of the North Downs. The town centre I see quite compact but there's a Waitrose, Aldi and a bunch of smaller shops.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-60537138.html

This one is in Wallington in zone 5. Sainsbury's and Lidl, smaller shop size and restaurants, farmers market, walking distance to library and leisure centre. Beddington Park is gorgeous and you can walk to the countryside going south too. Carshalton Village also within walking distance with fab pubs and other amenities.

Hi Poppyfields21, JoJoSM2,

Thank you for your messages we will take a look at the areas suggested.