Finding the Perfect Place to Live as a First Time Buyerfeatured

Ever since I started saving for a house deposit I’ve been convinced that I’d buy my first property in Salford, a metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester. After all, many towns within the City of Salford have the following perks:

• You can find houses for less than £100,000
• These houses are often larger than those you’d get for a similar price elsewhere in the North West
• It’s handy for getting to both Manchester City Centre and Media City - ideal for getting to work
• It has great ‘transport links’ - oh I don’t half sound like an estate agent!
• House prices are predicted to rise over the next few years
• If I decide to get a lodger, it should be easy to find someone

Also, since I’m buying my first home alone, this seriously limits the amount of money I can borrow from a mortgage lender. I was convinced that Salford was my best option. I had it all planned out. I’d buy a house in Salford, Jake would move in, we’d live there for about 3 years and eventually buy a better house together. Recently I’ve found myself talking about my second house even though I haven’t found my first one yet!

Considering moving house can be a long winded process costing thousands of pounds, realistically I need to accept that I may well be living in my first house for 5 years or more. And in 5 years time I may not even be in a position to buy somewhere else! You never know how the future will pan out. As a result, it’s suddenly dawned on me that if I’m going to be spending £100k on a house, I need to be more than just ‘okay’ with it! Buying a property with an ‘it’ll do for now’ mentality just aint sensible. I need to find a house that is not only what I want physically, but also fits the bill logistically.

I’ve had a long hard think about the other things I want from my first home and, more importantly, the area it’s in:

• I want the house to be in an area with lots of trees, greenery and at least one park nearby
• I’d like there to be some nice bars, restaurants and shops in the vicinity. I’d also love the idea of having a nice local pub
• I want to feel safe walking home from work at night
• I want to be in an area that is relatively peaceful

Although I’m currently living in my home town of Sale, I’ve lived in Salford for 5 years in the past, and although the city does have its nicer parts, the more affordable areas don’t cater to many of my above demands. So I’ve decided to broaden my search. However, as much as I’d love to live in Didsbury, Chorlton or stay in Sale, these places just aren’t affordable. I need to find a town that is within my price range while still having a little bit of that leafy suburbian charm.

Over the weekend my parents took Jake and I on a mini road trip around Stockport. Stockport is a large town in Manchester with tons of shops, amenities and good transport links (there’s my inner estate agent again). It also has lots of mini towns and villages within it such as Heaton Moor, Heaton Chapel, Bredbury, and Edgeley. While we didn’t actually view the inside of any properties, we went for a drive around some of the above areas and sussed out where would be nice to live.

I have to say, I was really impressed by Stockport. I’ve always thought of it as a very city-like town and, perhaps ignorantly, never imagined it’d have so much greenery and quirky little bars and shops. I thought it was full of offices, factories and big ugly blocks of flats. Silly me.

We also spotted some really nice and relatively affordable properties. Unfortunately, I think I’m going to have to up my savings efforts and erm…salary a little further in order to buy somewhere nice in Stockport in the next year, but I’m remaining positive!

Over the next few months I’ll be looking around other parts of Manchester in an attempt to find my dream town or village, so if you’re a fellow Mancunian and have anywhere in mind, please do give me a shout and share your tips!

Photo Credits

Salford: Chris Jones

Sale: Ben Sutherland

Stockport: highlights6