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Original poster

Cheapest property areas

36 replies

Namechangefail1234 · 15/01/2023 11:25

I'm sick of renting. Sick, sick, sick of it. I was chucked out at 17, and I've paid almost £300k in rent over the past 14.5 years.

I want the stability of owning my own home.

My DH has had significant debt problems, though we have 2 years until the last CCJ drops off his report (it's paid but still visible)
I am off of work currently, will be until our youngest is in school.
DH being SE means he will also struggle with proving his income, then I don't know how we will meet the affordability checks to buy somewhere, where we live.

Eldest leaves school next year, so I'm thinking, if we can find somewhere cheaper, it might be the time to uproot our lives if it gives us the stability of home ownership.

Where we live is currently about 300k for a 3 bed house.
According to mortgage affordability checkers DHs earnings would allow him £190k.

Even with a decent deposit, there's quite a hole between what we can borrow, have and need.

So can people please share house prices in their areas if they're cheaper than ours, but nice places to bring up families.

Thank you.

OP posts:
DressingForRevenge · 15/01/2023 11:26

Huge swathes of Scotland tbh.

TaRaDeBumDeAy · 15/01/2023 11:28

Sittingbourne in Kent had 3 beds for under 200k last time I looked, but that was last summer.

TaRaDeBumDeAy · 15/01/2023 11:29

They were doer uppers though, looked like ex student houses or squats though.

Original poster
Namechangefail1234 · 15/01/2023 11:32

DressingForRevenge · 15/01/2023 11:26

Huge swathes of Scotland tbh.

Tbh I'd be up for it! Do you have any place names I could use In my search please? Been searching a lot of the morning for cheap property areas and I'm quite unsuccessful.
Thank you =)

OP posts:
MadeForThis · 15/01/2023 11:33

Northern Ireland.

Original poster
Namechangefail1234 · 15/01/2023 11:34

TaRaDeBumDeAy · 15/01/2023 11:28

Sittingbourne in Kent had 3 beds for under 200k last time I looked, but that was last summer.

Thank you! I'll pop Sittingbourne Kent onto my list. Don't mind a doer upper, we've got the skill sets between us to do most things, and the things we cant do, we would have friends thqt can help

OP posts:
MarmiteCoriander · 15/01/2023 11:38

Clacton, in particular Jaywick. Not a great area though!

TodayInahurry · 15/01/2023 11:40

Most areas that are cheap are because of low wage, few jobs and high crime.

ShirleyHolmes · 15/01/2023 11:41

South Wales. Swansea and some of the Valley towns. Some are nice and some not so nice so would need exploration.

Swansea itself has gorgeous beaches and parks, good schools and unis, and lots of pools, climbing centres, ninja warrior, bowling, cinema, arena and theatres. But it also has some dodgy areas and the town centre is awful - people shop at the out of town complexes or go to Cardiff.

OhBeAFineGuyKissMe · 15/01/2023 11:41

How big a house do you need and what do you need to be near for work/ schooling?

Lessonsinchemistry · 15/01/2023 11:42

Where do you need to be for work? Can your DH borrow £190k if he lives in Scotland for example or will his salary be lower? Can you work as well to improve affordability?

AntiHop · 15/01/2023 11:45

What about shared ownership? It gives you stability. We did shared ownership for our first step onto the property ladder.

PurpleFlower1983 · 15/01/2023 11:52

Many parts of Yorkshire.

FadedRed · 15/01/2023 11:54

Lots in Derby and Derbyshire.

WoolyMammoth55 · 15/01/2023 11:56

Hi OP, we bought our 3 bed house in Somerset for £205K in 2019.
It needed total renovation, re-wiring, new boiler and pipes and radiators, so therefore we needed to go back to bricks in every room and re-plaster. Our refurb budget was another £70K.
I think the prices - both for houses and also trades and materials! - have gone up since.
Schools are good here, the town is lovely, we can live without a car day to day if we want to (we have one but just use it for 'big shops' and trips away). There's lots of fresh air and stunning walks and we have a great life.
BUT in general the reason property is cheap here is that there's no train station, poor transport links in general, no one can commute to London for jobs.
We are 45 mins drive from an A&E. Our local GP is good though - swings and roundabouts?!
The job market locally is slow and jobs are badly paid. I've been able to find something working remotely but it's not great, if I had more options I'd have quit but this is the down-side of our town.
Similarly I think there are places in end-of-nowhere Wales where houses are cheap but they lack access to amenities.
It's important to check out schools, GPs, and even sports clubs and stuff - you said eldest leaves school but it sounds like your youngest still need decent support to get through exams etc. And you'd want them to be able to make friends and sustain good mental health - Scottish highlands possibly not the best for your kids from that perspective?
DM me if you want the postcode of our place! Wish you best of luck.

bravotango · 15/01/2023 12:00

Budget of 200k might get you a fixer upper in South Liverpool (Wavertree, Aigburth) - I've been here 10 years and it's a great place to live

RoseBucket · 15/01/2023 12:01

@Mammyloveswine love the Violet Street one!

Flowerfairy101 · 15/01/2023 12:03

We moved from the south east to near Swansea last year and love it, beautiful countryside,beaches, outings are cheaper, never looked back. You could easily get a nice house for 190k.

ChristmasCakeAndStilton · 15/01/2023 12:04

We've just sold our 4 bed detached for 240,000.

The nicer (but not the absolute nicest) bits of Teeside would meet your criteria. That got us access to good Primaries, and outstanding secondaries.

MissMarplesbag · 15/01/2023 12:13

If I were you I'd concentrate on improving your credit ratings & employment status for now. You'll both struggle to get a mortgage unless you both get stable jobs. You mentioned your dh was self employed, could he get a similar f/t or p/t role in a firm? Can you get a remote admin job working from home?

Cheap areas are often cheap for a reason, choose an area with good health, education & job prospects for your kids. What will your teenager do after they leave school? College, University or a higher degree apprenticeship? Choose a city with future, sustainable prospects for the whole family.

MissMarplesbag · 15/01/2023 12:16

bravotango · 15/01/2023 12:00

Budget of 200k might get you a fixer upper in South Liverpool (Wavertree, Aigburth) - I've been here 10 years and it's a great place to live

I'd second South Liverpool, better schools, good opportunities and good connections to Wales & North for holidays etc.

Mammyloveswine · 15/01/2023 14:59

RoseBucket · 15/01/2023 12:01

@Mammyloveswine love the Violet Street one!

Isn't it fabulous?! I'm not quite in a position to move yet but that is cheaper than what my house is worth now!

Just the type of house I want! I rushed to buy my house as was so excited I could afford to buy at 25 and a year out of uni!

Going to fully redecorate and love it then move within the next 5 years when we decide which secondary is best for autistic DS!

I love living in the north east though! It's a wonderful part of the country with so much to offer! A dynamic city in newcastle, wonderful coastline, incredible countryside, shopping is great, nightlife is great, culture is fab with hadrians wall and so many national trust sites and English heritage castles!

Dillydollydingdong · 15/01/2023 15:02

Portsmouth
Gosport
Ipswich

scottishnames · 15/01/2023 15:38

In and around Glasgow - some of the outer village residential suburbs, perhaps?
Glasgow has little pockets of nice residential streets in between all sorts of other buildings. But it also has lots of parks, top class culture (or al kinds), good public transport and very easy access to stunning countryside.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/129569693#/?channel=RES_BUY
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/128665592#/?channel=RES_BUY
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/130140992#/?channel=RES_BUY
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/128751167#/?channel=RES_BUY
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/130667558#/streetView?channel=RES_BUY
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/129809753#/streetView?channel=RES_BUY

In a converted historic building:
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/129461879#/?channel=RES_BUY

This will have gone by now, but looks nice:
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/129854438#/?channel=RES_BUY

Inner city would be too expensive for a family-sized home, unless somewhere in the east end such as Dennistoun. Great buildings, very trendy and very urban. Examples here:
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/129128498#/?channel=RES_BUY
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/128701481#/?channel=RES_BUY

For really, really good value, Glasgow has many inner suburbs of well-built and spacious 1930s-1950s ex local authority homes. These are amazingly cheap for the space provided; they often have gardens etc. Some are semis, others are 'four in a block' upper or lower flats.They are popular as first homes for families with children and with retirees. Examples here, but there will be many others:
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/130067303#/?channel=RES_BUY
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/130240280#/?channel=RES_BUY
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/128963234#/?channel=RES_BUY

Until recently, I would have added a warning about the Scottish 'offers over' pricing system. The most desirable homes would often go for 20% or more above that. But with the current slump in the housing market, and for houses at the cheaper end of the price range, I would not be too worried about that at the moment, though other Scottish Mumsnetters might want to correct me.

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