How f-***ked are we?

[Frazzled252]

We bought a Barratts David Wilson (BDW) five bed home in Bedford this year. It has turned out to be the home from hell, with sewage smells, gurgling and no ceiling or floor plumb.
BDW have admitted that they need to take the house back to brick to sort the issues, and that we will need to move out. That’s not okay with us as we bought a newbuild for the convenience. BDW have offered three months mortgage payments, but we don’t have a mortgage so have no idea what this cash goodwill would look like.
BDW have also offered to provide a cash settlement in lieu of fixing the house but then we’d have to pay ourselves to fix the house and would likely lose money.
We are also keen to move from the dystopian and apocalyptic looking area (Wixams). The issue is that the house was relatively cheap because it is in such a horrific area.
what options do we have?
is there anywhere in the south east that we can get a decent house for 800-900k?
TIA for replies

Would depend on solicitor. We bought a new build, were told our solicitor had carried out all appropriate searches etc. They failed to do simple part search. We are currently in negligence case four years on. Sometimes solicitors tell you they have done things they haven’t.

Agreed

Thank you. We have no kids but I am 40, OH is 39, so we want this to be the forever home. We have a love hate relationship with new builds - we do prefer older renovated houses, but neither of us have the skill of creativity to renovate or decorate houses nicely. We are also NHS workers and have no time whatsoever so prefer the house to be done and ready before we move in, hence new build.
Partner works North London and commutes. We ideally want somewhere with amenities, a pretty town, schools, and countryside. Leighton Buzzard has the town and countryside but no schools really AFAIK.

You need to look further east at towns on the main East Coast line. Hitchin, St Neots or a village on the outskirts of Huntingdon would fit your bill nicely. St Ives is nice. I don’t know why you’re putting schools into the equation when you don’t have children. Take the money, rent for a bit and take the time to find exactly the right house would be my advice. The interest on the house proceeds would cover a chunk of the rent. It’s a buyers’ market right now and cash buyers are sought after.

Bedford is entirely it's own area of the UK being not in the South East, East Anglia or the Midlands. Anyone in any doubt of this should listen to the Mark Steele in Town Bedford episode.

Thank you. We do love Hitchin, St Albans but the prices are outrageous. We thought staying somewhere like Beds would be a compromise on getting a decent sized house, plus being commutable. In Hitchin we’d be looking at a semi. Even in a buyer’s market the options are limited and we are trying very hard to not have to get a mortgage, so wouldn’t have a lot for refurb after buying

There are plenty of joining towns near those areas where you could get a big house for £800k- Stevenage & surrounds, Hemel, Hatfield, potters bar, borehamwood. St Albans adjacent like London colney.
Ignore peoples snobbery about local reputations- they are only “inferior” by Hertfordshire standards which are wacky.
you’ll have to compromise if you want a large house, not least because as as well as being very expensive it’s not like old Roman towns are full of them.

I like beds but it is for villages and you don’t sound suited to that.

Then look further north. This is just down the road from me. It’s five minutes from the station and an hour’s commute from London.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/167206481

I don't quite understand why, if you're quite young, you are against getting a mortgage. Can you explain?

Are you still hoping to have a family?

Are you both doctors/ medical? You said in your other posts you'd had 1 hour sleep in 72 hours which suggests you're a Dr. (Though I hope not as that isn't great for patients!)

Having £750K+ as cash is out of most people's dream when they are in their 30s, so adding on another £200K with a mortgage would give you more options.

Bear in mind the cost of a commute, parking at the station, running a car or two and time spent on a train/ tube. You might be better off putting that money into a property closer to London, like St Albans, rather than spending ££££s on fares.

I think you need to be more flexible. Consider a mortgage, get your priorities sorted and be realistic. You can't always get a forever home at 39. Plenty of time to move upwards.

You really don't get much in those areas for £800K, unless the location is a bit dire.

I would consider getting a mortgage, even a small one, because it gives you more options and makes it easier to eg increase the mortgage later if you want some cash for renovations or improvements.

You are not going to get a 5-bed house if that's what you want within your budget for £800K and no mortgage that is any closer to London. And any you do see are likely to be new builds not character houses. Or do-er uppers.

I'm thinking that having children is still on your radar so that might be No 1 priority.

If you want a 4-bed house, you will get one in the villages, but bear in mind you will have a 20-30 minute drive to the station, fees for parking and commuting costs.

Good schools in Herts are oversubscribed and very much location- driven down the last inch!

If you are hoping to have a family there are hot spots with great schools (Hitchin, St Albans etc)but you will have to compromise on something.

You're an ideal couple for Location, Location, Location and need Kirsty and Phil to sort out what really matters!

I know I was thinking that! We need Phil and Kirsty 😂😂

Brand new 5 bedroom home in Arlesey, Bedfordshire with double garage. Arlesey has a railway station within walkable distance and is right on the Beds/Herts border, so actually a little bit nearer to London.

Arlesey

What would be a dire location? Imo there aren’t any truly dire, maybe boring or out of town but not dire

there is a whole new development on colney heath (st Albans) https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/167827541

Leverstock Green- half way Hemel/ St Albans
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/168143789

harpers

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/165012302

these aren’t the most desirable parts of St Albans/ Harpenden but they are nice, safe pleasant areas with amenities. I think they’re nice houses too

LB schools are quite well though of I think- lots of people locally like the 3 tier systems, most primaries are good and some of the senior schools have good reputations (I’ve a family friend whose sons went to Vandyke and they are now both at medical school). Plus in some of the villages to the north you are actually in Bucks so a grammar school area if that’s what you mean. And there’s the option to go for the Bedford trust schools or some independents towards MK.

Thankyou this looks promising. Will have a look now

Just seen this and looks amazing
I’m not sure why my googling isn’t bringing up all of these houses!
TYSM will have a look now

I really do recommend looking at Letchworth if you like Hitchin. It’s just down the road so you get all the bars / restaurants / shops on your doorstep without the horrible traffic. The town is lovely and relaxed, family friendly and has loads of green space. It’s also really well connected to London and has all the amenities you could need. Prices are rising as people get pushed out of hitchin and realise how great it is, but we bought a fantastic very large detached 4 bed for 900k fairly recently with minimal work to do. The housing stock is a mix of beautiful older (1900s) houses and some newer build developments on the outskirts.

There's loads of stuff that has been and is being built near you - the Beds end of Cambs round St Neots/Cambourne way, outskirts of Cambridge, Sandy, Biggleswade. Further north there's lots of building in Huntingdon, you just need to do your research and be careful where you buy. £800K still goes a long way round those areas and you're reasonably near to towns like Cambridge, Milton Keynes etc with decent facilities as well as an easy train to London. The closer you get to London or Cambridge the less your £800K will buy you, obviously.

I certainly didn't say that. I did say that being an hour north of London doesn't mean you're in the south east. Bedford is absolutely not in the south east. It's on the Look East news programme for ex. That's East but not South. It's about 25m south of Birmingham (not due south obvs).

https://www.visitsoutheastengland.com/useful-info/map-of-the-area#:~:text=South%20East%20England%20is%20home,the%20top%20of%20this%20page.
Here's a little link to Visit South East if you don't like Wikipedia.

Cambourne’s horrible. Soulless and miserable with the highest crime rate in Cambs. Don’t even think about it.

as a poster said above you’re referring to geographical technicalities, we were just saying that generally if someone says eg “Im from south east England” people would maybe assume- I dunno, anything south of the Cotswolds and east of Wiltshire, rather then referring to maps or tv regions to define the regions.

Higher than Cambridge, Peterborough or Huntingdon?

Yes, adjusted for population.