The Lemon Fool

melonfool wrote:But it looks like an hour and twenty at the moment.

Right now, that's correct. It's been an hour and fifteen for 20 years. But planned electrification (plus the sorting out of west London signalling and the finishing of various other disruptive works around there) will bring it down by 15-20 mins. Well, that's what they're telling us, anyway.

Swindon (trainwise) looks more doable and some of the villages have reasonably priced properties.

Indeed. You need to pick your location carefully, because some of the north Swindon suburbs are a bit rough. While others are delightful but some are a bit too near the motorway for comfort. Local research definitely recommended.

Royal Wootton Basset has a few, though not sure I could cope with the media intrusion they get/invite (which may be why the prices are low!).

I think all that military funeral stuff is fading now, because the Iraq coffins aren't being flown into RAF Lyneham any more. One other reason why prices are low is that several military bases (including Lyneham) have been dismantled, so officers are moving away to other places and houses are being sold. A bit of a buyer's market, if you want to look at it like that I suppose?

I wish RightMove had a 'centre here, but five miles out, don't include the actual town' as when I put a place I could commute from 99% of the houses that come up in the price range are, obviously, in that town and I don't want to live IN the town, I want to live in a village 5-10 miles from it.

I can totally recommend that! But I think Rightmove gives you a 'stretchy' map where you can define your desired locations pretty precisely. (Top right at http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for ... rsham.html.) The same, I imagine, for anywhere else in the country?

Good luck, anyway. PM me if there's anything you're interested in finding out.

BJ

Would Flitwick (or Ampthill) in Bedfordshire suit?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flitwick

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for ... sortType=1

I used to live in Luton, and thought of moving there. Big enough to have facilities, and great access for Rail and M1.

Oddly enough a friend of mine used to live on Grey's Rd, Henley (last link). Not a great town for 'value for money' ...

cicero wrote:http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/42628334

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for ... 41831.html

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for ... 07035.html

Ha ha. I think I can do better than a boat (scared of water), or a park home (not a Jeremy Kyle candidate!) and a weeny apartment without a proper kitchen. Though I do like the area, having gone to college in Caversham.

Flitwick, as mentioned above, is on the possible list. I've seen one place there. I'll have another look with it as the central point.

Ta

Mel

melonfool wrote:I wish RightMove had a 'centre here, but five miles out, don't include the actual town' as when I put a place I could commute from 99% of the houses that come up in the price range are, obviously, in that town and I don't want to live IN the town, I want to live in a village 5-10 miles from it.

Either rightmove or zoopla will let you draw your own search area on the map. Or you could select postcodes that exclude in-town.

And if there's something they don't do, try suggesting it. Competition is a fine thing, and you have two websites each keen to be the best for their users!

Breelander wrote:

Clitheroekid wrote:Well here's one view of it - ...

Have you tried looking up your own town on that site? I didn't recognise mine

Mine isn't on there but going by the towns around it this site is either a spoof site or simply one that attracts complaints and exaggerated criticisms.

didds

melonfool wrote:
I wish RightMove had a 'centre here, but five miles out, don't include the actual town' as when I put a place I could commute from 99% of the houses that come up in the price range are, obviously, in that town and I don't want to live IN the town, I want to live in a village 5-10 miles from it.

Mel

If you select Edit Search area you can draw a doughnut to achieve this.

Right move has a draw a search facility. It's a bit fiddly to use but once you have succeeded, you can save that search to use again or ask for email alerts when houses are added.
Sorry, can't help with advice about villages, as I live in one 15 miles outside Glasgow, could you relocate that drastically, needless to say, it is much cheaper up here. You would need to buy more clothes, as we are currently blanketed in snow!
Good luck,
Mischka

Thank you - I had found the drawing tool - not sure I can make it do a doughnut to be honest.

It's a bit fiddly as you say. I have some saved searches like that.

Glasgow would be OK I have plenty of clothes. Currently thinking that with all these tiny houses I am looking at I will need to get rid of half of them though.

This weekend I am looking at houses in Rushden (probably to rule it out), Clapham (Beds), Souldrop (Beds) and Eynesbury (near St Neots, Cambs).

Mel

Never heard of any of those, and I spend hours looking at maps as part of 'work'!
Out of sheer nosiness I had a look at Souldrop on Google Streetview - looks quite pleasant - and it has a pub Don't think I could live anywhere without a walkable boozer - not (just) because of the beer

Clapham (Beds) is the last known location of Glenn Miller, apparently.

AleisterCrowley wrote:Never heard of any of those, and I spend hours looking at maps as part of 'work'!
Out of sheer nosiness I had a look at Souldrop on Google Streetview - looks quite pleasant - and it has a pub Don't think I could live anywhere without a walkable boozer - not (just) because of the beer

Clapham (Beds) is the last known location of Glenn Miller, apparently.

I took a drive out to Souldrop last weekend and it is lovely, not much there, just farms and, as you say, the pub which looks nice.

I have a gap after seeing that house so might have lunch there. A friend has asked if I am free to meet over the weekend so might see if he wants to meet me there.

It's near Sharnbrook which is also very nice, and has more facilities. I have looked (from the outside) at some houses there but they are, so far, a bit estate-y for me. I suspect the prices for the non-estate houses is much higher.

I am aware this is not the best time of year to be looking as sellers don't tend to put houses on til the weather cheers up. But that does possibly also mean that prices might be somewhat depressed, so it's a double-edged sword.

Mel

melonfool wrote:I am aware this is not the best time of year to be looking as sellers don't tend to put houses on til the weather cheers up. But that does possibly also mean that prices might be somewhat depressed, so it's a double-edged sword.

I've found in the past that to get an early viewing of "desirable" properties as they hit the market, you have to go through the palaver of viewing unshiftable properties which have been sat on the estate agent's books for a while.

If you start to look now, you might find a property you want at a good price. If you don't see anything you like, you've just pushed yourself towards the top of the list of people the agent will call in that period between the property being offered for sale and the picture going up in the EA's window.

PochiSoldi

melonfool wrote:Royal Wootton Basset has a few, though not sure I could cope with the media intrusion they get/invite (which may be why the prices are low!).

RWB is "quieter" since Lyneham closed and the body bags now fly into Brize Norton - if that is what you were meaning Mel.

Decent Rugby club too if that helps

didds

Just a thought Melonfool, have you considered property auctions?

I may be influenced by watching Homes under the Hammer!. But there are bargains to be had and not all of them are wrecks.

Whatever you decide, the very best of luck, house hunting is not for the faint-hearted.

Hi Mel,

I've only been to Rushden in the dark for the Folk Dance Club, but the centre seems OK at that time. I couldn't persuade you to try Peterborough Folk Dance Club, but Rushden has a good one. Alternatively, have you thought of the villages north of Bedford (also a good folk dance club there ), Clapham, Oakley, Milton Ernest, Sharnbrook, Harrold with its country park? They are on the right side of Bedford for the station. The fastest train on the BedPan line takes 39 minutes to St Pancras.

ND

melonfool wrote:No Southern Trains. So, no Kent,...

At the risk of being pedantic, Kent is served almost totally by southeastern. There are lots of nice villages here with pubs but no schools.

Chris

NilDesper wrote:Hi Mel,

I've only been to Rushden in the dark for the Folk Dance Club, but the centre seems OK at that time. I couldn't persuade you to try Peterborough Folk Dance Club, but Rushden has a good one. Alternatively, have you thought of the villages north of Bedford (also a good folk dance club there ), Clapham, Oakley, Milton Ernest, Sharnbrook, Harrold with its country park? They are on the right side of Bedford for the station. The fastest train on the BedPan line takes 39 minutes to St Pancras.

ND

Thank you - I have looked in most of those villages, and the offer I have made is in one of them! Clapham is more like a sprawling suburb of Bedford really, but it's OK, it does have a risk of flooding though, being close as it is to the Ouse, and has flooded in the past.

I did see a nice house there but decided in the end it was too small, then I got the mortgage offer so could trade up for a bit more space, so that's nice.

Mel

csearle wrote:

melonfool wrote:No Southern Trains. So, no Kent,...

At the risk of being pedantic, Kent is served almost totally by southeastern. There are lots of nice villages here with pubs but no schools.

Chris

I was wondering what I had got wrong there because I know Southern doesn't serve Kent, but actually it's really an interpretation of my punctuation - the full sentence was "not east of London, nor south. No Southern Trains. So, no Kent, no Sussex, probably no Surrey."

The Kent comment was linked more to 'not east of London'.



Mel

melonfool wrote:The Kent comment was linked more to 'not east of London'.

Ah, right, I see what you mean.

Chris
(I won't take offence that you don't want to come live near me. )