Where can I buy a nice house for under £200k

[gettingamoveon]

We are looking to downsize and go mortgage free for a while. Where can I buy a nice property in the UK in a good area with good local schools for under £200k? Don't want to be in the middle of nowhere though. Only need a 2 bed property and we have one primary aged child. We don't need to worry about staying close to family.

What is your idea of a nice house?

Quaint character? Or just four strong walls and a roof , not in need of renovation?

Up North?
Wales?

Give us more details of what you do or dont want
Mid terrace? Semi? Drive? Garage? How many bedrooms

You need to give more info, but a lot of the UK. You could stick county-wide searches into Rightmove. The North-East springs to mind, Northumberland for example.

Pelton, DH2 1NJ
www.rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/property-90903853.html

This is nice and not in the middle of nowhere!

But you’re talking about vast swathes of the country so you’re going to need to be more specific about what you want!

Lots in areas of South Wales but we don't have a grammar system and limited private schools so depends what you mean by good schools. If you're only after 2 bed you'd be fine.

Where I grew up in east Lancs you can still do that. A family member’s nicely done out three-bedroom 1930s semi (with valley views) recently sold for £208k, to give you an idea. Look at Burnley and some of the surrounding areas.

Lots of people are sniffy about Burnley and like everywhere it does have its insalubrious areas. But it has some very nice ones too and you could do a lot worse.

North Lincolnshire

There are plenty of houses that fort your criteria in my town in the midlands but they are in crappy area of the town (but with good schools) so I won't link to them - it's going to be hard to tell of an area is decent if you're being so general.

This is also in the Midlands, although not very near me I know the area is nice, but you couldn't walk to the train station to commute. Do you want new build, terraced house, parking? We need more info.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/90832477#/

Most of Scotland, not Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Bridge of Allan, and probably alot of other exclusive villages, but definitely in my home town and the city we currently live!

We've just bought a three bed in one of the villages outside Doncaster for under 200k. Primary and secondary within walking distance. (Plus a wildlife park). Nothing fancy, just a normal family home.

You could probably get a 2 bed for 200k in most places outside of London and the southeast. You could get a 3 bed in a lot of the North, Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland.

North Shropshire is nice I will try to find an example.

I got my two-bed Victorian mid-terrace in Worcester for £179,000 just over a year ago. It's in the 'desirable' bit of town, walking distance to the shops, good schools, beautiful green spaces... I love it. I periodically look on Rightmove to see what I'd get for that budget back in my old city in the South East. I could currently afford a heavily fire-damaged house in the dodgy bit of town or a caravan

There are lots just look at Right Move. Whitchurch, Ellesmere and Oswestry all have properties to suit your requirements.

Thanks I know I've been really general but we've been going around in circles and really need to make progress on a move. We've sold our house and still don't know where we're going.

If I have all of my criteria I think I would most likely be going way over budget. I will give it a go!

Fine with small home as there are only 3 of us - but would ideally like not too small.

A garden is a must, even if it's small. We are used to some privacy in terms of not sitting on top of neighbours. A garage is a plus but not essential as long as we have some room to store our extras like bikes, tools, garden tools etc.

We love houses with a mix of character and modern. Important to have fairly close access to green areas / countryside. Preference is for a more warm part of the country.

Reasonable / fairly close access to decent local shops is a must - we are happy to live on outskirts of an area to get cheaper home. Having said that a nice / safe area is more important than size of the house.

We are looking to downsize until we re-establish ourselves. We can and do work for ourselves at the moment which is one of the reasons we want to keep housing costs down whilst to get up and running again in a new location. Saying that, we could go back into employed jobs.

I hope this helps to answer some of your questions and gives a clearer picture. It's difficult trying to find the right place, especially when we're not overly familiar with the areas and haven't been able to visit and search due to covid.

I totally appreciate I have been very general but we really are open to finding something that meets our criteria somewhere in the UK. Thanks for taking the time to read this if you've got this far!

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/91021870?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard

What about Durham? This one is walking distance to outstanding state primary and secondary schools as well as the city centre and train station. It's more expensive as a result though. You'll get more for your money the further away from the city you go.

Because of the university, Durham City has a large number of residents not born there. It isn't as insular as some other parts of the northeast.

Just read you prefer somewhere warm. Maybe best not Durham then 😁

Where are you now OP?

[[1 Warrington Gardens, Ludlow
www.rightmove.co.uk/property/90627052]] Ludlow, no really bad areas. Shropshire is gorgeous. This looks nice.

Were not currently living in the UK which is why it's so difficult to try to find somewhere. We've been relying on internet searches.

Until we've re-established the business it's highly unlikely we will be able to get a mortgage at the moment which is another reason we need to downsize.

We're looking at state schools at the moment - it's really important that we send DC to a good school so this is top on the list of priorities.

Thanks for the links I will take a look. If anyone is selling or knows of anyone who is it would be great to see links to properties.

I'm not so sure on school catchments, but parts of Bridgend County are a nice mix of everything. Lovely walks all along the coast including the Welsh coastal path, but close to the Brecon Beacons for mountain walks and well placed for Swansea and Cardiff. Porthcawl and Bryntition are both good secondary schools.

Wales uses a traffic light system to grade schools and results are released every year. It's not the most reliable but may be useful as a guide:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-51315089

Not warmer (bit it is at least the drier side of the country), much of the north east fits the rest of your requirements. Indeed, you are likely to get more than 2 beds.

I second near Doncaster

I found this property on the Rightmove Android app and wanted you to see it: www.rightmove.co.uk/property/98723882

It's a 5 minute walk from the Transpennine Trail, so there are some stunning walks right from the door.