Buying in County Durham

[jwalrus]

Hello,

Me and my partner currently rent in Gateshead but are looking to buy in County Durham, I work in Gateshead but she works in Middlesborough and we want to move somewhere that is a shorter commute for her.

We are originally from the South of England but moved up a few months ago for work.

Also, we want to live somewhere a bit more rural, with good access to shops, pubs, restaurants, train line etc. And a safe, friendly area too.

Have considered Chester Le Street and surrounding villages but don't know which areas are nice as have heard mixed things.

Durham city is really lovely but very pricey. We wouldn't want to pay anymore than £200k for a 3 bed, and that's top end of budget really.

We are both willing to commute 30/45 mins.

ALSO, as we are planning to live in the property for a couple of years and then ideally rent it out.

So would really appreciate knowing the areas where the rental yield is good, and the house prices reasonable.

AlSO, what are the good primary and secondary schools in C.Durham? As this would be good to know when putting an offer in for a house. We are first time buyers btw so will be looking to move once the hysteria of no stamp duty has settled.

Thanks :-) all advice suggestions appreciated.

@Iheartsheep my mil lives near the East shore village in the Dene area. We always pop to the Crows nest for a quick drink.
The marina there is lovely. We saw a seal sunbathing on that beach two summers ago.

The Yarm/Eaglescliffe drive to Newcastle in rush hour is unlikely to be under an hour. I doubt Gateshead would be much shorter.

Darlington, Chester Le Street or Sedgefield would be my instinctive answers. I'm not sure about much further north, as we are at the Boro end of your commute.

Belmont should be worth a look too.

We're not far from Newton Hall and Dh's commute to Billingham is about 35 minutes, when he does it (very rarely, at the moment) Doesn't have to do battle with the tees flyover, so quite a bit quicker than Middlesbrough. He either takes the A181 or goes via Sedgefield, depending on which has the least annoying toadworks

Belmont would cut battling with Durham traffic out for her and it's not much harder to get to Gateshead from there because it's by the A690.

[quote Comps83]@nomdeguerrrr
We've looked at sedgefield
It's very expensive
We almost moved there this year if a certain major housing developer hadn't done us over
It's still on my 'maybe' list
We were a bit worried about the tales of huge gangs of youths who would gather in the centre and come from as far away as Stanley , consett and Chester le street etc
We were assured the new policeman had put a stop to this but then it happened again a few weeks ago
Such a lovely place too [/quote]
The groups of young people hanging out happens about once every two years if not less frequent but because Sedgefield is nice, leafy and no pockets of social deprivation it attracts the attention of the local media anytime anything happens at all that would be run of the mill in a neighbouring village.
It's possible to get a 3 bed for £200k and schools are all very good.

Thanks everyone, really appreciated. I guess we need to get out and explore these areas when lockdown is lifted. We really like walking and hiking so I guess near Darlington would be better location for that! But I guess there's alot on our doorstep here really :-)

By which I mean in the north east area! Not Gateshead...unless you go further West !

Don't give up on Durham City for walking. The walk into the city centre from Newton Hall is through a nature reserve and the city is punctuated with natural free areas and woodland and surrounded by great walking routes.

Just on Durham City, I wouldn't normally have suggested Crossgate Moor as being too expensive. But I see a 4 bed semi there today up for less than 200k. The house looks as though it needs a bit of work and the bed room sizes aren't massive.

The advantage and pull off this area is it is within easy waking distance of an outstanding primary, St Margarets, and an outstanding comp Durham Johnston. Just thought it was worth a mention if schools are a priority.

You've got me looking at sedgefield now again op
We're so undecided about where to live and what to spend
No one wants to buy our house though so it's a moot point right now 🙄

Agreeing with Seaham, I live nearby and it’s come on leaps and bounds in recent years.
Hawthorn is a village just down coast from Seaham. Also worth a look.

Castle Eden is a lovely village too. Both that and Hawthorn have lovely little pubs

What Wolsingham and surrounding area like? We might be having to move there in the summer.

Yes there really are some lovely recommendations here ! I guess it will be best to be east side of Durham or further south towards Darlington. The commute is more manageable then for my partner.

@RitaEllen wolsinghams nice . Like a lot of rural areas I think its had its issues with bored teens and has its nicer bit and not so nice bits . I wouldn't mind living there if it wasn't so out of the way

Not a drive I've ever made but surely Wolsingham to Middlesbrough is more than 45 mins

No, Wolsingham isn’t near Middlesbrough, I was just jumping on the thread to ask what it’s like as I most likely have to move there or thereabouts in the summer and you all seem knowledgeable.

I wouldn't want to be that far west in Wolsingham due to the commute but I'm sure it's nice !

What comps83 said. It's a long way from anywhere and has a good six inches of snow today! I'd live there if I didn't have to commute.

@RitaEllen

What Wolsingham and surrounding area like? We might be having to move there in the summer.

It's nice round there. Not great for teenagers I imagine though due to being a good bus route from anything fun. Can get snowed in up there more than other areas as well. There is a huge retail park at st Helen's now which has made shopping much more accessible for people living there although still a 20 min drive or so. Great if you like walking and the outdoors and hamsterley forest is very close.

@Comps83

You've got me looking at sedgefield now again op We're so undecided about where to live and what to spend No one wants to buy our house though so it's a moot point right now 🙄

The housing market is a bit sparse in Sedgefield at the minute unless you want a new build or have mega bucks for the huge old houses near the village. That will change soon once furlough and mortgage holidays end which is a sad state of affairs

@verawangalang yeah we tried to buy one of the new builds and they screwed us over so won't even consider them again
Is the winterton estate ok?

[quote Comps83]@verawangalang yeah we tried to buy one of the new builds and they screwed us over so won't even consider them again
Is the winterton estate ok?[/quote]
Same! I was about to sign in the dotted line and they put the price up by 3k so they got told to Foxtrot Oscar! Winterton is nice but I find it feels just a bit too removed from the village itself. Walking distance to Sainsbury's and Bolam's but a bit far into the village for a night out/meal (those were the days!) if you don't want to drive. Also a bit of a slog to walk for the school run if at Rectory Row school rather than Hardwick if the weather is rubbish. But maybe I'm a lazy get haha!

@verawangalang
We worked towards the completion date they set
We sold everything we weren’t taking including the sofa
Afternoon before we were meant to move our sols said tw had raised queries and we wouldn’t be completing the next day
They dragged it in for over a month before saying they wouldnt accept our house for part exchange.
Wouldn’t give them a penny now

I wouldn't completely discount Peterlee. It's got an understandable reputation for being a bit depressing but I used to work there and a good friend / colleague brought her family up in a lovely house in Brancepeth Chare. Around there (Shotton Hall /Oakerside) is nice, very handy for the A19, close to a v good secondary - Shotton Hall - lovely walks into Castle Eden Dene and through there to lovely pubs in Castle Eden. It obviously depends on your lifestyle - Peterlee definitely doesn't offer a quaint or sophisticated high street, for example - but there would be no harm looking at the area I've mentioned, based on the commuting you need to do.

I agree, The Academy at Shotton Hall is a very good school. So if schools are important it is worth considering that area.