If you had £60,000 to buy a property…..

[blublub]

…..anywhere in the country, where would you buy? It’s not a lot but it’s an opportunity I have been given, but I have no idea. Where would you buy?

I see overblown posts like this all the time on these threads

Renovation costs as much or as little as you want to spend. Not all do uppers need a full rewire, they rarely need central heating put in unless you want to change from electric but some properties are all electric anyway so you would keep it, doors again will cost what you want them to, windows may need tarting up but not wholly replacing

A lot of the properties that are do uppers are really decorative, you can make a kitchen and bathroom look completely different with just a thorough clean and new tiling or paint, new taps etc and if you do need to replace cupboards and sinks and bath panels, that can be done extremely cheaply.

This is just decorative stuff and someone can live as long as they like with the poor old 'tired and dated kitchen'. Its not going to kill anyone to do so.

This is why people think they cant afford property or have to spend hundreds of thousands on something more than something else, they simply cant countenance the need to live with something less than ideal or get their hands dirty and put some work into something. OP has the right idea.

plus it's a retirement property.

This.

Not necessarily true of the Scottish ones. House prices are just cheaper here. You might not be in a metropolis but there are services and shops close. You think all the neighbours are making 100 mile trips to the shops ?

Also the Gatesheads and Sunderland ones I linked to, near metro stops and train stations, near shops and amenities and can travel into towns and cities.

These threads always bring out really offensive views about (usually) 'the North' and small provincial areas where its seen that no one would want to live and they're horrible and dumps. Well people do live there, people raise families there, they go to school, go to work, have friends, have family, have hobbies, do all the normal things people do in the nice leafy south.

I do understand the appeal of being mortgage free, but what you are essentially asking is where is the worst property in the worst town I can buy? Because that is the reality of attempting to buy one of the cheapest properties in the UK.
Even the ones that seem ok will probably have damp, dodgy neighbours, short leases, subsidence Etc. Presumably you dont currently live in the worst property in your town, so why downgrade now you have come into a bit of money?

That post by @soupyspoon has made me remember that in all those months of Right moving this year with the sane budget as OP there were many terraced houses - some in good areas but mostly not - that looked fine in the first picture of the outside. But then you look at the other pics and read the full blurb you quickly realise that although the house is liveable, the house hasn’t been modernised in 30 years or more. So £20k at least (?) to spend to do it up even if you DIY.

It's certainly compact!

Some of the ones that have been posted need more than cosmetic touches though. One of the flats posted has huge damp patches on the walls for instance. And even things like changing the tiles in the bathroom etc costs money.

Also a first time buyer should never touch an auction property. You buy as seen with no comeback if there are hidden issues. My BIL is a developer and bought a house at auction that had structural issues requiring a further 150k to remedy (fine for him as he has a lot of properties but he didn’t know at the time).

One of the other flats has a lease of under 75 years which is short and needs extending, which will cost a lot.

The bungalow (actually a chalet) that has a public footpath on it and is on the grounds of a sports club is leasehold and as it’s a chalet probably doesn’t have proper foundations.

I just think the OP is being rigid in her insistence that she doesn’t want even a modest mortgage yet she is considering essentially high risk properties that could turn into big money pits. All for the sake of avoiding paying a few hundred pounds a month and getting something actually nice that you’d want for live in.

Yes its going to cost some money I didnt say it wouldnt cost anything but you take your time, theres no rush. Unless there's water pouring in or the oven doesnt work, you just do one room at a time and take your time.

We've lived here 16 years, still got the same naff front door that I hate which Im now hoping to replace, kitchen was put in but not decorated so that needs finishing off, lots of decor to do, flooring upstairs in some rooms was never done, etc etc

So it takes time.

I didnt mention auction properties and would never touch those

You cant tell by a picture if something is actively damp or if it is, whether that has now been solved or whether its easily solvable if it is. Rising damp is completely different to water ingress damp. These things need to be checked out

And as Ive just said, I didnt say it wouldnt cost any money! Where have you got that from, but when people throw figures around of this or that refurb costing 60k, it depends on the property (1 bed flat vs 3 bed terrace), depends on what you want, depends whether you buy a second hand kitchen off ebay for 2k and put it in mostly yourself, same with bathroom, or buying off cuts of flooring, laying flooring isnt that difficult, painting and decorating isnt difficult, tiling the same.

The lease is only a problem if OP expects to outlive the lease, she doesnt say how old she is but if she is in her 50s and plans to stay there, it doesnt matter if she dies and the lease only has a few years left on it.

I dont know what bungalow you're tlaking about.

Yep me too. My instant reaction was 'a garden shed'. I'm amazed at what you can buy.

I would look at north wales, maybe parts of Saint Helens or the Wirral?
If it’s your forever home I would consider the locals hospitals and transport links.
What kind of lifestyle are you wanting? Is city life important? Is seaside or walks in the country side?
I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for you!

I think you’re being over sensitive here. We’re talking about a relatively tiny amount of money to buy a property in the UK and you don’t get much that’s appealing for £60k (and by appealing I mean basics like it being freehold or share of freehold and in terms of the area low crime rates, OK travel links etc. Not there being a Waitrose and outstanding secondary school ten minutes away).

Over sensitive? What?

This is the bungalow - also an auction property

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/167807270

Yes you are right that renovations can be done cheaper and maybe 60k was a bit of an exaggeration (although the people who do them on the cheap often are handy themselves or have family members that are).

With the damp, does OP know what to look for there? I know that there are different levels of damp.

A lot/most of the properties people have posted on here are auction properties. There is a reason they are 60k and they likely won’t sell for that at the auction.

And with the lease, as long as she realises she is not investing in anything and she is buying a depreciating asset. And of course is at the whim of service charges being increased etc. To me it’s a no brainer. If she spends 100-120k on a freehold terraced house that might need a bit of TLC but makes a nice home and is in a nice area, it’s likely to be worth a lot more in 20 years time and by then the OP will have repaid her mortgage. If she throws 60k at either a total money pit at auction or somewhere with a short lease, she really would be better off just renting and investing the money elsewhere.

What you said in your second paragraph in the context of what £60k buys you.

If you are serious, OP I would take a walk around some of these areas at various times of day and see whether they would suit you.

Problem with some of these areas is that most of the properties are cheap rentals often hosting challenging tenants (drug/alcohol abusers, asylum seekers moved north by local authorities in the south on cost grounds etc)

Most of the owner occupiers are elderly and dying off: I think you have to ask yourself whether you will find a sense of community there, how safe you will feel out at night, how much your insurances will cost etc. It is not all about bricks and mortar.

Whats 'sensitive' about it?

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/168981035#/?channel=RES_BUY

A little over your budget but here is a seaside property on the South Coast, less than £100 per month service charge. It looks v small, but trendy area.
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/154176098#/?channel=RES_BUY

People are still posting auction properties and that St Leonards one is a bedsit

Which might work for some people, particularly share of freehold.

I read it as the preconceived impression of the North

@soupyspoon the poster saying you’re sensitive was referencing your thoughts on how people perceive the North

Yes I get that, but why over sensitive?

This is what happens on every thread like this, people slagging off areas as not nice enough, horrible, no one would live there etc etc

Its utter snobbery.