Where to spend a million?

[househunters]

Hi,

Apologies for the crass title

DH and I have a budget of up to £1m for our next house, but not sure where to buy. Can anyone help?
Our requirements are:
-fast access into north/central London (ideally an hour door to door commute)
-outstanding state school provision at both primary and secondary (our children are 2 and nearly 1 so school applications are a little while off yet, but it's an absolute must for us)
-we like houses with personality. No new builds, and not a fan of 70s houses
-4 beds and a good sized garden
-driveway
-walking distance to good play parks, independent restaurants and shops. A small pretty town would be ideal.

Is this possible?

I'm sure others will be able to suggest areas, but I wanted to sound a note of caution on schools.
You won't be needing a secondary school for 10 years, and it's very possible a school thats outstanding now won't be in 10 years time (you can read news articles about the number of outstanding schools dropping to requires improvement when they have their next ofsted). School ofsteds tend to go up and down in cycles, those that are brilliant now are unlikely to be the same in ten years.
Looking for primary is really sensible, but I wouldn't worry about secondary.

Honestly, I would say maybe but not a given - pretty towns with character housing, good schooling and transport links are expensive for a reason. We are searching for similar & it’s as expensive, or more, than London.

It would be difficult in Bucks and the northern parts of Berkshire.

Parts of Herts like Tring would work and in Essex towns like Bishops Stortford and Saffron Walden.

@Ohhgreat

I'm sure others will be able to suggest areas, but I wanted to sound a note of caution on schools. You won't be needing a secondary school for 10 years, and it's very possible a school thats outstanding now won't be in 10 years time (you can read news articles about the number of outstanding schools dropping to requires improvement when they have their next ofsted). School ofsteds tend to go up and down in cycles, those that are brilliant now are unlikely to be the same in ten years. Looking for primary is really sensible, but I wouldn't worry about secondary.

Thank you. I'm a secondary teacher myself who has worked in a range of different state schools- so feel I am quite good as sniffing out schools that aren't truly outstanding anymore. I'm aware schools can go downhill and there's nothing we can do to control that, but I also don't want to set myself up for failure by knowingly buying a house in an area with struggling secondaries.

@Porridgeislife

Honestly, I would say maybe but not a given - pretty towns with character housing, good schooling and transport links are expensive for a reason. We are searching for similar & it’s as expensive, or more, than London.

It would be difficult in Bucks and the northern parts of Berkshire.

Parts of Herts like Tring would work and in Essex towns like Bishops Stortford and Saffron Walden.

Thank you.

Yes I'm aware it's an expensive ask, which is why I'm thankful our budget isn't tiny.

I'll look into those areas- if they're less than an hour door to door to London then that's great- better would be a 30-40 min train journey as that allows for travel time either end.

Twford? Not sure how much that million would get you though.

Yes I'm aware it's an expensive ask, which is why I'm thankful our budget isn't tiny.

Your budget isn’t by any means tiny, but it doesn’t make it any more possible! £1.2 ish buys you about 1,800-2,000 sq ft and a nice looking house in most parts of South Bucks and the nicer Herts towns like St Albans, Berkhamsted etc. Prices went up by 10% last year.

Berkhamsted would be worth a look if you can get your head around 70s/80s estates as there is definitely some housing near the station that would come in under budget. Stock is an issue, an agent told me it’s one of the worst towns for seller/buyer inquiry ratios.

I really like Tring but you do need to factor in driving to the station. The high street is lovely and the local schooling provision is good, with Bucks grammars a possibility.

@Porridgeislife ah ok thank you. It's just depressing to think that getting a modest 4 bed might be impossible with our budget!

Hitchin?

Lots of lovely villages in Kent? Fast line from Ashford into St Pancras, or the normal trains into London Bridge/Charing across.

Grammar system at secondary though so that might affect things.

Harpenden has got good schools and is about that far away if not closer to London. A million will buy you a house but not sure about a 4-bed house.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/119878271#/?channel=RES_BUY Twickenham

It’s awful, isn’t it? To think that a million pounds cannot buy a (nice) 4-bed house within striking distance of London.

I had a look around me (1 hour away) and 1m is inadequate for a character house, although £850-900 might get a 70s/80s house. Had a look at Bucks and omg - £1m buys crap all. I am very familiar with parts of it and know that some of the houses advertised are on busy main roads and one is next door to a sewage farm. They are clearly the properties left on the shelf!

The house opposite me sold without being on the market: there was a list of ready buyers waiting for a house to come to market. I think this is what you have to do, OP, identify your preferred location and then rent there. I have noticed that the houses coming to market atm are usually quite dilapidated ones where the owners have gone to a better place as younger homeowners are extending rather than moving.

Lincolnshire, off the A1 around Grantham and Newark. Lincolnshire still have the Grammar school system. Grantham just over an hour on the train to Kings Cross. £1million will go further here.

Between Reading and Oxford?

@househunters Take a look at Whereshome. Their instagram page is fab showing where you can buy properties up to 1M and comparing towns (Where to get more value for money).

Are you sure you want a grammar area? Your kids are very young and it's hard to know if they'll be 11+ candidates until they're 7 or 8 at the earliest. You need to look at the secondary provision if they don't get in to grammar. This can be good in some areas, dire in others.

£1m in an area of South Bucks where you are a shoo in for the most sought after grammars and striking distance from a fast train won't get you a characterful four-bed. It might get you a seventies house in a slightly less posh road, and I really wouldn't turn your nose up - they can be on great plots with lots of space inside, giving you the lifestyle you want.

For a characterful four-bed you'd need £1.2-1.3m and even then you'd probably be on a busy road. Quiet, characterful four-bed is more likely to be £1.5m in the right catchments.

@TheEconomista

Are you sure you want a grammar area? Your kids are very young and it's hard to know if they'll be 11+ candidates until they're 7 or 8 at the earliest. You need to look at the secondary provision if they don't get in to grammar. This can be good in some areas, dire in others.

£1m in an area of South Bucks where you are a shoo in for the most sought after grammars and striking distance from a fast train won't get you a characterful four-bed. It might get you a seventies house in a slightly less posh road, and I really wouldn't turn your nose up - they can be on great plots with lots of space inside, giving you the lifestyle you want.

For a characterful four-bed you'd need £1.2-1.3m and even then you'd probably be on a busy road. Quiet, characterful four-bed is more likely to be £1.5m in the right catchments.

I actively don't want a grammar area. Very opposed to them. Good state comps in a non grammar area are what I would like!

Lincoln itself has no grammar schools, but probably too far for you?

Where are you commuting into and is it likely to change? Commuting into Paddington vs London Bridge, for example, opens up very different areas.

Tunbridge Wells could work (45 mins to London Bridge), Sevenoaks (25 mins to London Bridge), Oxted (40 mins to LB)

Tunbridge Wells examples:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/116007077#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/119648258#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/111364241#/?channel=RES_BUY

Oxted:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/119966042#/?channel=RES_BUY

Bromley could also work, or areas of SW London such as Kingston and Surbiton.

Surbiton:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/81941514#/?channel=RES_BUY

Thanks all. Commuting into kings x ideally.

I’d look at Bishops Stortford. The local comprehensive is excellent and the train links to Liverpool St are reliable and pretty quick. Essex is markedly cheaper than the west side of Herts and South Bucks. You can switch to the tube at Seven Sisters to access KX directly.

Sorry, Tottenham Hale not Seven Sisters

Cambridge? Fast and frequent line to Kings Cross.
Great place to live for families. Everyone cycles so no taxi service required for your teens which they and you might really like.

Hitchin.
Cambridge is too expensive now.

It might be a relatively expensive place to live but the huge majority of families in Cambridge live in homes that cost less than a million pounds!