New job: choice between suitable housing and a 1 hour commute from Portsmouth.

[biberal1]

I've been offered a spectacular new job in Woking, it's everything I've ever dreamed of: 16 weeks off per year due to it being in a school, but still a decent salary for someone my age, (22).

The only problem: property in Woking is shite. My best bet in the area is a studio flat for £115k, but it's a ground floor of a victorian conversion, so the noise is likely to be unbearable unless I get it soundproofed.

I have a deposit of £50k but it's still not enough to get me anything decent. I have found a 1 bed maisonette in Portsmouth for 135k, but it would require a 1.5-1hr commute each day. Is it worth it? I will only be working for 36 weeks of the year, and so I will only be doing the commute for 2/3 of the year.

Do I risk buying the studio nearer to Woking (which would STILL require me to commute 10 mins and cost £8 per day) and paying for soundproofing in an already tiny flat, or do I stick out the commute?

I can't do noise. I just can't. The sleep deprivation will be unbearable.

I'm leaning towards the tiny studio flat and just paying for soundproofing.

Sounds like a horrible commute and likely to take far longer than you anticipate. The commute cost may offset additional rent. There must be somewhere closer to Woking affordable.

Try renting first,to get a feel for area and travel. Maybe a professional houseshare to keep bills down?

I think studio flats can be very very hard to sell if the market has a downturn. What about looking in cheaper areas that are about half an hour away like Aldershot and Farnborough, even Bracknell? Have you looked in shared ownership?

Here is one (there were cheaper):

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/113581115#/?channel=RES_BUY

I'd do a weekday lodger or nice house share and buy somewhere else to live at weekends and holidays.

There are some shared ownership places in fleet/church crookham which is a 30 minute commute. New build so soundproofing would be better. It can be a really good way to get started and totally possible to ‘staircase’ to owning more of it over time if you plan and save.

Home-ownership is a long-term thing. Is this job a long-term thing?('scuse unintended pun)
At your age, I think that I would encourage renting for a bit longer and investing your money in something that will keep pace with property prices. Failing that, buy something that can become a rental when you move on to the next stage of your life.

Do not buy that maisonette. It will be in a vile area of Portsmouth and you’ll regret it. Keep your deposit in the highest interest paying account you can find and rent somewhere closer to work for the time being whilst you decide where to be.

But don’t live in Portsmouth.

(Disclaimer, I live near Portsmouth, not just a random hatred )

That will be a horrible commute with various queue points - roundabout on A3 at Liss, Guildford.

My dad commuted to Woking from Bordon, which is less horrible than it was - maybe somewhere like that could be a possibility. Aldershot could work too.

I wouldn't buy for a brand new job. Take the job, rent for six months, then reevaluate.