Can anyone help me figure out what to do? First time buyer (solo)

[Pixysmoke]

Hi all,

Feeling quite sad and alone with this and I've spent the last 4 hours on Rightmove, so I could really use some help.

I'm 36 (F) have spent my life renting or living with partners. Now that I'm single I'd like to buy my own place so that I have some kind of security and don't end up relying on relationships to put a roof over my head.
I earn around £33,000 pa before tax, and my work is very attached to London (I will need to go into the capital around twice a week and work from home the rest of the time). I think I can borrow around £150k, and I can scrape together a £30k deposit. That gives me around £180k to buy a place. Obviously I can't afford anywhere in London, so I'm looking at places like Reading, High Wycombe, Luton etc as they're close to London so I could commute in a couple of days of week. The monthly repayments would be around £580 which is very affordable as my monthly income is over £2,000. But I can't seem to find anything vaguely decent for £180k?? Just looking for a 1 bed flat that feels okay to live in for 5 years. I'd like it to feel safe as I'm a single woman, and to be not too far from a train station.
I've looked at shared ownership but I'm a bit put off by how complicated it seems to re-sell and the thought of expensive service charges. I would consider buying 'up north' but I don't know anyone there and the type of work I do can't easily be found outside of London. Can anyone provide any advice or ideas for what to do?
Feeling very down in the dumps!

What sector do you work in OP? I was wondering if there would be no jobs outside London or just fewer jobs.

Have you considered Shared Ownership OP?

Try Warwickshire! Beautiful county and you can be in Euston in 50 mins

Have a look at Bedfordshire.

Try Aylesbury. Definitely got easy access into London. Plenty of 1 and 2 bedroom properties available. Surrounded by pretty towns and villages.

I would make a list of possible towns and then go an visit the ones you don’t know to rule them in or out.

I would move much further out. You can get fast trains into London Euston from Rugby (c50mins) and into St Pancras from Leicester (c55/65mins)
You can also buy much cheaper property. A budget of c£180k would get you a two bed city centre apartment in and around Leicester and it’s a good multicultural city with a huge amount of development and stuff to do.

Thanks for all the responses! It's great to not feel so alone in this.

@Booboobadoo I work for a particular part of the charity sector. I know there are jobs outside London too but whenever I do a job search the vast majority are London-based for the type of salary I'm on. I appreciate it's all relative though, especially if living costs are lower away from the capital. I am keeping my eyes peeled on jobs as I would be willing to relocate to a different city if the perfect job came up. Trying to get all the ducks in the right order in the row is tricky though - especially as you need to show proof of earnings to get the mortgage...

@alwayswrighty Will check out Eastleigh thanks! Peterborough is definitely on my list of prospects.

@VioletCharlotte Thanks, I've been trying to read up on shared ownership. There seem to be lots of things to watch out for which makes it feel complicated and daunting but I haven't ruled it out completely.

Bedford, Aylesbury etc are definitely on the list as they tick the boxes for easy trains and also on the right side of London. I've been having another search today and I've seen a few promising properties so that has given me some hope.
They say you should be prepared to live in a property for at least 5 years so I want to move somewhere I feel excited about and has enough space for a vacuum cleaner! Not looking for anything fancy but definitely don't want to live somewhere too depressing either!

@mayblossominapril Think I will do that. Thank you! Will be nice to do some research trips over the summer.

@Pixysmoke with shared ownership, it can get expensive if you buy a leasehold property as you have to pay management fees, but it's definitely worth considering and looking at freehold properties (houses). My friend just bought a 50% share of a lovely new build, two bed house with a garden.

@MimiSunshine I hadn't considered as far afield as that. I didn't know the trains were so quick from Leicester. Interesting!

OP, could you qualify for the Nationwide helping hand mortgage? With a minimum 10% deposit, you could borrow up to 5.5x salary - you'd have more than 10% and could potentially borrow just over £200k.

www.standard.co.uk/homesandproperty/buying-mortgages/first-time-buyer-mortgages-scheme-nationwide-helping-hand-95-b933217.html

Instead of thinking ,miles have a think about time and cost of commuting.

I once got on the wrong train at Stafford, the next stop was Euston! I was at Euston in about the same time as it would have taken me on the Northern line when I lived in Finchley.

Obviously you have to calculate the cost of travel which depends on whether you need to be in London before 9.00am

You could have part of a stately home

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/78252996#/

I love this quirky place

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/85133665#/

Instead of thinking ,miles have a think about time and cost of commuting.

I agree with this. Fast train from my village (8 min walk from my house) has me in Marylebone in 18 minutes - 2 mins walk from the station to office much quicker door to door than when I was travelling within London from Highbury & Islington. Train fares are expensive but if you are only in a couple of days a week it won’t sting so much. Which part of London do you have to get to? Base yourself on a overground line and avoid as much Tube travel that you can.

What lifestyle do you want? Rural, coastal, market town, city centre?

[quote Pixysmoke]@MimiSunshine I hadn't considered as far afield as that. I didn't know the trains were so quick from Leicester. Interesting![/quote]
The East Midlands has good train connections to london.

The Leicester to London line is probably the most expensive. The rugby / Nuneaton line is generally cheaper (Less familiar with Northampton lines). But if it’s only a few times a month then that may not be a factor.

There are a lot of commuter villages too with stations which connect to the main lines but these are more expensive areas to live.

Depends what kind of area you want to live in. Having looked on rightmove there are nice city centre apartments in Leicester which would be a good option and walkable to the station, there are a couple of small houses in one commuter village, but you’d be very bored there.quite a few houses in shitty areas but ask on here for areas to avoid if you consider it. And one house in Clarendon park area which is on the edge of the city and a nice area with its own high street with lots of bars and restaurants.

Market Harborough is nice but expensive. As another poster said. Look at trains journey times not miles from the capital

Also Premier Inns are coming in at £35/night if you book ahead - so if you stayed in London overnight you would halve your train fares (only doing two single journeys / rather than two returns) - so this train saving might pay for the hotel and you would save a lot of time commuting. You could realistically then live as far away as Norfolk, NW, Bristol, Shropshire etc.

Thank you everyone. I feel very excited and inspired by all these suggestions. You've expanded my mind!!

@sashh I hadn't even considered Stafford but wow, just looked at train times and can't believe how quick it is compared to lots of places in the South East. I love that part of the country so will definitely explore this further.

@Sssloou What kind of lifestyle do I want is a really good question. I hadn't even asked myself that question because I was just expecting to have to compromise, but I do agree it's important. My ideal would be somewhere leafy or near to green space or with easy access to the countryside. I love cycling and walking. I could handle city/town centre life for a few years (lived in London for past 15 years) but I would prefer to be close to fields and woods etc as I love nature. I'm definitely not a party person but I do love the buzz of a city so having shops and restaurants nearby is a bonus. I think I need to be realistic though! It's hard to tick all the boxes but I agree it's good to start from what you want and then work backwards and weigh up the compromises as you go.

Might I suggest the new Nationwide helping hand mortgage?

You need a 10% deposit but can borrow 5.5x your salary if you are a single person (and a FTB) earning over 31k.

So it might allow you to stretch your budget to find something you actually want?

The drawbacks: You have to lock in for fixed rates for 5 or 10 years.... currently 3.34% interest. :/

@PicsInRed Thank you. If didn't know about the Nationwide scheme. Great to know that exists! I already have an account with them too. Will try and get myself a mortgage advisor soon.

North herts?

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/102422519#/

You can get to Kings Cross pretty quickly (I used to travel to Bank, and that's a lot easier now too).

Also would advise that you rent first in the area you are interested in so that you know if it’s for you. Even if you could only manage a series of Air BnBs - try out different towns, villages etc. Once you know where you want to be based take a 6 month rental because it’s much better to know the minutiae of an area whilst being on the ground rather than turning up just for Sat am viewings

You could get a one bedroom place in places such as Barnehurst or Erith, Kent. Or Crawley which has a mega quick train service int London from Three Bridges. Or lots of other places in a West Sussex.

I can highly recommend using Trussle mortgage advisors- all done online, no long winded meetings and best of all, no fees! We just used them for a remortgage and they were fantastic.

@Ruple Thank you. They sound great. I'll check them out. I'm glad you had a good experience with them.

So pleased that I posted on here. Feel like I've been given a bumper pack of advice, suggestions and info to help me in my quest!

OP

One word of warning. Although @Ruple has had a good experience, there will be fees involved. If the advisor is not taking a fee from you then they will be receiving payment from mortgage company.

This means they may advise you to take the mortgage that gives them the best fee rather than the one that is best for you.

So OP

What is your wish list?

Is this likely to be a permeant move or just for a few years?

Will you have a car?

Which is more important having restaurants / pubs close to where you live or would you be happy to get your culture/city fix on trips to London?

Do you want a new build or something that needs some work?

Flat or house?

I feel the power of MN will have you sorted in a week or two.