Where to buy a house near Birmingham?

[FreddoBaggyMac]

We have just found out that DH's job is moving to Birmingham and the likelihood is we're going to have to move pretty quickly - before the end of the year. It's going to be hard for us as we have four small children (all under 6)and no family or friends around there and we don't know the area at all, and also DD1 is really settled at her primary school here which is just a few minutes walk from our house...

Anyway, we need to look to the future and I'd be really grateful for any advice anyone can give me about buying a house in that area. Which areas are good, which to avoid etc... we have no idea at all as we've never even been there.

We basically want to be in a nice area for our DCs to grow up in and as short a commute to Birmingham as possible for DH. We need three bedrooms and a study and would like a garden. Most important, we need to be walking distance to a good Catholic primary school. We prefer older style properties (Victorian or earlier) but we need somewhere that doesn't require any renovation (or preferably even decorating!) as we just won't have the time for at least five years! Our budget is going to be around £250k.

Have heard that Bournville is nice - but there seems to be lots of areas within Bournville, I think Bournville village is going to be too expensive for us. Have also heard good things about Edgbaston, Harborne and Moseley - but again I suppose all of these places have good and bad areas within them... Have also thought about living further out (Whitwick, Malvern?) but perhaps the commuting time would be too long?

I'd be completely grateful for any advice from anyone as we're really stuck - we're not even going to have much opportunity to go and look at houses as we'll need to move quickly and have our DCs to consider (not easy to househunt trailing 4 DCs behind you!)
If anyone could provide me with links to houses for sale that might be suitable for us I'd be eternally grateful!!

Thank you in advance.

Freddo - whereabouts in Newcastle are you ? I only ask because I have done some work up there and know it quite well so might be able to tell you which of the "potentials" are most like where you are atm.

FWIW, I am a surveyor who has lived in and around a lot of the places mentioned and has worked for years as an acquisition agent (like Kirstie & Phil without the fame & fortune ). If you want to CAT me, I'd be more than happy to let you have more thoughts/ideas.

As you can see, its really difficult to get a shortlist because everyone has very different opinions and in general, most people think the place they are in is the best so I'd hate to offend anyone on the thread with any overly honest opinions

Someone did mention Wolverhampton and I specifically recommend looking at Wombourne. Its to the south of Wolvs (therefore closer to B'ham) and has a lovely village green and a catholic primary school (St Bernadette's). I'm not sure you'd get Victorian but there are plenty of 1930's semis and other styles

Oh yes, Womborne is lovely (I was there on Saturday!). Not sure how long it would take to get into Brum though.

TSM - I didn't realise that's what you did. What a great job!

I'm in Low Fell, Gateshead. Some nice houses (like mine!), surrounded by some bad areas, pathetic shops, great primary schools, lovely people!

Will def have a look at Wombourne -like the name as it makes me think of Uncle Bulgaria! Your advice is really appreciated Tilly as you obviously know what you're talking about. How do you rate Bornville, Harborne, norton, kidderminster, Sutton, Lichfield, Malvern and Bromsgrove? Which would be your top 3 given that DH needs to commute to Birmingham, but we'd ideally like something a bit more rural and we can spend £250k and need 3 beds plus study?

theDM - please tell me a bit more about the school!

Like the look of Wombourne

Should add Tilly that I'm not necessarily looking for somewhere exactlt like here (apart from in respect of the school) - I'm originally from somewhere more rural (Sedgefield) and would probably prefer somewhere along those lines only with better schools and shops!

Thanks theDM!

Littlefish, have spoken to my sister, remember meeting you now!

Oooh Sedgefield is lovely

OK - my top 3 (plus associated waffle) no offence meant to anyone

If short commute is most important then I would say Bournville is a good choice. Some bits of Selly Oak and Selly Park would be fine too but others are to be avoided. Generally speaking, the nearer you get to Northfield/Weoley Castle borders, the worse it gets.

If you decide that a a longer commute is viable (still sub 1 hour though), then Norton would be my choice. Its less "gold shoes and handbags" than Hagley, but you still get the benefit of the Hagley Catholic secondary school and a primary school in Norton itself. There's plenty of lovely countryside on the doorstep and its a leafy suburb with nice park and a community feel

If you want even more rural (and therefore a slightly longer commute), then Wombourne and Malvern are worth a look. They are both very pretty village/town but would be a longer commute (I suspect 1hour 15 in rush hour)

Would your dh be reliant on public transport or would he drive or could he do either ?

Sutton, Solihull and Harborne are all lovely but they do attract a premium and for your budget, I think you'd end up compromising on either the house or the area within those areas iyswim.

Bromsgrove/Lichfield and Kidderminster are very variable ime. There are some nice parts and some truly horrible ones (like a lot of places obviously). They are also quite large conurbations and I don't know the locations of the catholic primary schools so can't really advise whether the locations which would be in walking distance are the ones that are nice or not. I have to confess that, bearing in mind your requirements, they wouldn't make it on to my shortlist.

(But how did you know which of her two sisters I was?)

I don't! I just realised that you were one of them. I think you're the one with one son. Is that right?

I think she's the other one, without the son

Thanks so much Tilly, your advice is pretty much the conclusion I was coming to independently so it is good to have my thoughts confirmed! Wombourne looks really lovely... DH could either drive or use public transport, but he'd prefer to do the latter as often as poss and drive in only ocassionally.

The houses in Kidderminster really tempt me (that minton tiled hallway...) so we'll probably end up having a look around there.

I currently have Norton and Wombourne as number 1 choices, and Bournville, Kiderminster and Bromsgrove as secondary choices. Am probably going to abandon Sutton as from the looks of it we'd get far less house for our money (If I had an extra 50k to spend it would definitely be high up my list!)

the school in Wombourne is tiny - only 3 classes (which might mean 3 of my children would end up in one class ) Not sure how I feel about that, might be a good thing! Will need to see if they have any places before i think further anyway...!

The school is tiny.... I'm in one of the next villages along from Wombourne and have friends whose dc's go to St Berni's. They absolutely love it. Wombourne is a proper "village" and lovely for families. Public transport might be more of an issue though.....

Norton is still my No.1 as a compromise between easy commute/semi rural/community feel

I came through Kidderminster today and there are some beautiful Victorian houses and the prices are great - they just primarily seem to be on fairly main A roads

If you need any more info, once you've managed to speak to the schools, then just let me know.

malvern is a really lovely place to grow up. good schools, beautiful beautiful hills to escape on, but so close to town. quite middle class. great shopping in cheltenham (40 min drive). worcester useful but not as nice. good train link to london. safe.
catholic primary school - st josephs on newtown road. if you can afford it live in great malvern or near the hills, eg north or west malvern.

what is yr budget and what sized house are you after?

I do still have Malvern on my list as a number 3 choice - it looks gorgeous, but I think we'd struggle to afford a good house there and the commute might be a bit long for DH.

I did have a look at Boldmere and thought the houses still seemed expensive for us - but will recheck!