3bed House for 200k within 2.5 train of London?

[PumpkinChai]

Looking to move out of our area as we really cannot afford to live here if one of loses our job, looks like I'm gonna lose mine soon.

Hoping to lower our mortgage payment, hopefully by half. But just incase by some miracle I'm not made redundant, I’ll need to be reasonably close to London for meetings.

We are considering Lowestoft. Seems lovely there. Anywhere else that people can recommend please?

Thank you

The Avenue, Pakefield, Lowestoft, NR33
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-98661269.html

Wilson Road, Pakefield, Lowestoft
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-85948978.html

Nice, quiet road close to the sea.

London Road South, Lowestoft, NR33
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-89898677.html

Needs doing up but a good size.

There's even a 7 bedroomed property on Rightmove for £200k!

If you're looking at Lowestoft and using the train then you need to stick in the North Lowestoft area to avoid delays when the bridge is up. Nothing worse than being able to see the station but unable to get to it when you're in a hurry!

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/85941544#/
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/85816627#/

Leighton Buzzard 30 minutes to Euston

Depending on which part of London you need, you could look at the West Country as there are two lines that go to Paddington.

Grantham
Bourne
Market Deeping
Oakham

Koala,
Sudbury is lovely., and a great community, but 3 bed houses in the price range tend to be in Cornard, which is a way from the station. Sainsburys Cornard is walkable from the station across the riverside park but the estate is less accessible. Parking at station is almost non existent.
Journey to London is a single track, single track to Mark's Tey and then swap trains to liverpool street.

I'm thrilled to see Lowestoft mentioned on a 'moving out of London' thread. :-D

You need to take into account train ticket prices as they escalate quickly as you get further out! I wonder if anywhere in Herts would get cheap enough. I live in Letchworth where I think the cheapest houses would be around 250. You could definitely get a flat though.

You could live in the nicest part of Darlington, 5 mins drive to the railway station, catchment for good primary schools (and secondary if you're Catholic, non-Catholic option not so good but not terrible by any means) and be 2h30mins from Kings Cross on the train. Basically the bulk of England is

They've started flights from Tees Valley again haven't they?? More options if you could fly around Eaglescliffe and the villages out towards the (tiny) airport...

You could consider Norfolk. Norwich is 2- 2.5 hours into Liverpool St by train and there seem to be quite a few 3bed terraces for £200k or less on Rightmove.

Or you could look at Ipswich? This needs renovating but is a good size: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/98323571#/. Pretty but has a small garden: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/68281314#/.

Train from Doncaster takes bang on 2 hours. So anywhere within the vicinity that has local train connections to Doncaster then onwards

That's a huge radius and probably covers most of the country

Harwich or surrounding villages? End of the main line to L’pool st so not extortionate in terms of fares and very cheap so £200k would go a long way. Pretty buildings and lots of history close to sea and countryside. No idea about schools though. Maybe rent first somewhere before committing to an area?

Are you a young family?
I only ask as I’ve recently decided to become a SAHM after a short stint back at work meaning that we are now a one wage household.
We have stretched out our mortgage term to retirement meaning it has gone from 20 to 35 years. By doing this we have dropped our monthly payments from around £675 to £450.
Obviously it would be a terrible idea to do this ‘long term’ as you pay much more in interest this way and it only works if you are both young.
In future our income should go up again so we can reduce our term back down; in theory even shorter than the original term to claw back the ‘cost’ of doing this back.

(The above is assuming that you want to stay in your area of course!)

Ipswich is in budget, possibly has more to offer than lowestoft

4 bed, renovated
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/72403449#/

3 bed with garden
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/73483764#/

Spacious needing work
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/83439736#/

@Findahouse21

Look in Kent, places like Sittingbourne, Faversham etc. Only an hour to London on the High speed train and while there isn't loads going on jn the towns, lots is accessible eg Canterbury, London, Blue Water, eurostar etc

3 bed for £200k in Kent???? You've got to be joking!!!!!

@londongirl12

Just look on Rightmove.

The OP hasn’t come back anyway.

Midland main line is more expensive than east coast so market Harborough/ Kettering/ Wellingborough have cheaper houses but the cost to commute is much higher.

Further east the houses are more expensive but the train is better: depends on how often you'll be travelling. Kettering is a bit run down at the moment. It'll bounce back but is oarticularly good value right now.

Peterborough has good transport links and good value housing. The fen towns Ramsey, manes etc) are good value but you'll need to travel further to the station.
Great train from Bedford but you'll need to pay 230-250 for a 3-bed house. Rushden is 25 min drive from Bedford but cheaper houses. It's closer to Wellingborough for the train but Bedford is cheaper if it's a regular commute.
South of that band the houses are too dear, much further north and the commute becomes too long.