London Colchester Commute?
Discussion
Hello
As above really, and the same old story, I work in London (Liverpool St.) and can't afford to buy, take about £50k but still no chance.
I'm considering new build share to buys but I really like Victorian bricks and steep pitch roofed terraced houses.. (for the first step)
Just wondering how people get on with the commuter belt and train in etc, I'm considering Colchester, it's about 50 mins to work, shortish walk either side, season tickets are a bit spicy though! See pic below, the PH in me thinks I could buy a 986 Porsche every single year rather than pay that lol
Budget £225k get's something like this, less for a not end-of, potential to loft convert & dormer & out back etc, pretty much what £800k might get you in Wandsworth, just it's technically in *ahem* 'Essex'...
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prop...
Is it a good idea? Have you done it? Thoughts / opinions welcome. I could fill it with tennants one by one until it's full then move back to London and rent also, and Essex (Colchester campus) uni is a bit south for potential student cash mules to keep it tenanted etc. I'd do all building & refurb works myself.
I'm single & 30 so still 'quite flexible'
Is it a nice area? Are the pubs good?
Beers!
HH
Edited for absolutely terrible grammar
As above really, and the same old story, I work in London (Liverpool St.) and can't afford to buy, take about £50k but still no chance.
I'm considering new build share to buys but I really like Victorian bricks and steep pitch roofed terraced houses.. (for the first step)
Just wondering how people get on with the commuter belt and train in etc, I'm considering Colchester, it's about 50 mins to work, shortish walk either side, season tickets are a bit spicy though! See pic below, the PH in me thinks I could buy a 986 Porsche every single year rather than pay that lol
Budget £225k get's something like this, less for a not end-of, potential to loft convert & dormer & out back etc, pretty much what £800k might get you in Wandsworth, just it's technically in *ahem* 'Essex'...
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prop...
Is it a good idea? Have you done it? Thoughts / opinions welcome. I could fill it with tennants one by one until it's full then move back to London and rent also, and Essex (Colchester campus) uni is a bit south for potential student cash mules to keep it tenanted etc. I'd do all building & refurb works myself.
I'm single & 30 so still 'quite flexible'
Is it a nice area? Are the pubs good?
Beers!
HH
Edited for absolutely terrible grammar
Edited by Bullet-Proof_Biscuit on Thursday 14th February 15:49
BrabusMog said:
Where do you live in London at the moment / what is your commute time?
Balham to Moorgate office, it's about 35 minutes door to door but I've commuted 1h20 in a car before so it's not new, I quite like being able to zone out with an hour of radio 4 news to be honest (compared to tube).HH
I do it every day.
Yes your money goes further. No you won't get into Liverpool St in 50 minutes as the fast trains (from Norwich) are already full by the time they reach Colchester. However the regional service only takes 60 minutes and you will always get a seat (on pretty much any of the trains). You will however be able to get the fast train back, as long as you turn up 10 minutes before it leaves Liverpool St - to get a seat.
The service is actually pretty good (compared to my previous experiance with Southern).
You example house is in an okay area. Try Lexden for the expensive stuff.
A house suitable for the Uni needs to be on the other side of town - a long way from the train station. So a house that works for a commuter will not work for a student.
I like Colchester (I've also lived in Brighton, Nottingham, London and Leeds for comparison). It's not a huge place, it has quite a bit of (London) money and a decent selection of pubs/restaurents.
Yes your money goes further. No you won't get into Liverpool St in 50 minutes as the fast trains (from Norwich) are already full by the time they reach Colchester. However the regional service only takes 60 minutes and you will always get a seat (on pretty much any of the trains). You will however be able to get the fast train back, as long as you turn up 10 minutes before it leaves Liverpool St - to get a seat.
The service is actually pretty good (compared to my previous experiance with Southern).
You example house is in an okay area. Try Lexden for the expensive stuff.
A house suitable for the Uni needs to be on the other side of town - a long way from the train station. So a house that works for a commuter will not work for a student.
I like Colchester (I've also lived in Brighton, Nottingham, London and Leeds for comparison). It's not a huge place, it has quite a bit of (London) money and a decent selection of pubs/restaurents.
You want to make sure you live North of the station to avoid most traffic. As said above the fast trains tend to have few if any seats left but the slower trains are about 1 hour, not the end of the world.
It is an ok place to live, plenty of pubs and bars etc but there are houses going up all over the place.
It is an ok place to live, plenty of pubs and bars etc but there are houses going up all over the place.
Jasandjules said:
You want to make sure you live North of the station to avoid most traffic.
As always...its depends.North Station (which is the mainline station) is quite a long way from the centre of Colchester. Whilst being north of it does avoid traffic it also puts you a long way from the bars and restaurants. It's also where most of the new stuff is being built.
If I was looking for lower cost Victorian (and Colchester is not cheap compared to other Essex areas) then St Marys would be my focus (Google for Papillon Rd, Colchester - that is the centre of that area).
If the rail fare scares you, then you don't want to be parking at the station - it's £10 a day peak or £7 a day on a NCP season ticket! Lots of people, including me, cycle. Cochester has pretty good cycle lanes and lots of cycle racks at the station.
other than this being ugly, why not take the rail costs and dump them into this?
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prop...
500 per month is 100k on mortgage, but it will never reduce it will always be 500, if its put into a mortgage, then it will reduce over time.
I suspect that the 325k will be 290k in a few months when brexit happens too.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prop...
500 per month is 100k on mortgage, but it will never reduce it will always be 500, if its put into a mortgage, then it will reduce over time.
I suspect that the 325k will be 290k in a few months when brexit happens too.
Du1point8 said:
other than this being ugly, why not take the rail costs and dump them into this?
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prop...
500 per month is 100k on mortgage, but it will never reduce it will always be 500, if its put into a mortgage, then it will reduce over time.
I suspect that the 325k will be 290k in a few months when brexit happens too.
325k on a flat in an ex-council tower blockhttps://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prop...
500 per month is 100k on mortgage, but it will never reduce it will always be 500, if its put into a mortgage, then it will reduce over time.
I suspect that the 325k will be 290k in a few months when brexit happens too.
it also sounds like he won't get a 325k mortgage on his salary
Integroo said:
Du1point8 said:
other than this being ugly, why not take the rail costs and dump them into this?
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prop...
500 per month is 100k on mortgage, but it will never reduce it will always be 500, if its put into a mortgage, then it will reduce over time.
I suspect that the 325k will be 290k in a few months when brexit happens too.
325k on a flat in an ex-council tower blockhttps://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prop...
500 per month is 100k on mortgage, but it will never reduce it will always be 500, if its put into a mortgage, then it will reduce over time.
I suspect that the 325k will be 290k in a few months when brexit happens too.
it also sounds like he won't get a 325k mortgage on his salary
PorkInsider said:
Is that house you posted the link to particularly cheap due to access to one of the bedrooms being via another bedroom, perhaps?
Oh yeah wtf! I'd be inclined to make a hallway back paralleled with the stairs to give the far room access and make the centre bedroom a large bathroom with shower & roll top bath, then loft convert so it's still 3 bed..Not sure the area around north station is known for being a student area, they tend to stick much much closer to the university (if you come and visit you'll see how far away north station is from campus) around the Hythe area and the top of Wivenhoe. A couple of colleagues used to live near the station and reckon that it's not a particularly good area to live in (although not as bad as Greenstead).
As someone else suggested you'd be better off buying somewhere further away and then cycling to the station. Parking is expensive and that area can get very congested very quickly, especially if there's an accident on the A12 near the football ground (one bad accident on the A12 and Colchester can get gridlocked for hours).
Personally I'd spend a couple of weekends visiting various places along the trainline if your aim is to move out this way. Witham is not as nice as Colchester but does have a frequent train service as it's the connection point to the Braintree line, and your season ticket would be cheaper as it's not as far up the line. Chelmsford has a big commuter population so also has a lot of trains stopping, but then you'll struggle to get a seat by the time trains get there (and it's quite pricey as a lot of London money has flooded in to it in recent years).
As someone else suggested you'd be better off buying somewhere further away and then cycling to the station. Parking is expensive and that area can get very congested very quickly, especially if there's an accident on the A12 near the football ground (one bad accident on the A12 and Colchester can get gridlocked for hours).
Personally I'd spend a couple of weekends visiting various places along the trainline if your aim is to move out this way. Witham is not as nice as Colchester but does have a frequent train service as it's the connection point to the Braintree line, and your season ticket would be cheaper as it's not as far up the line. Chelmsford has a big commuter population so also has a lot of trains stopping, but then you'll struggle to get a seat by the time trains get there (and it's quite pricey as a lot of London money has flooded in to it in recent years).
Jasandjules said:
rscott said:
You could also consider Manningtree
When I looked there the trains were rather infrequent?!?!The very late services from Liverpool Street (23:00 onward) tend not to go there - they often terminate at Colchester.
There's a surprising number of commuters from Ipswich and Felixstowe who drive to Manningtree each day..
Been in Colchester a few years now and it’s a pretty decent place to live.
Traffic can be pretty horrific at peak times trying to get to and from the station do I’d choose somewhere you can either walk or cycle from.
Colchester is quite conveniently placed for trains as virtually everything stops there and you’ll get a seat if you avoid the intercitys. Greater Anglia can be a pain in the arse and when it goes wrong it usually does it big time stylee and their alternative route is via Cambridge! (And takes 3-4 hours!). When this happens it’s best just to find a pub and wait it out. The line is fairly reliable but it is expensive at nearly £5k but plenty of people do it (inc me
but I get a discount 
). They do suffer from lots of short-forms but there’s a new fleet coming in the next few years. The weekend engineering works has been going on forever and will no doubt continue to do so in the future which means replacement bus services probably for evermore at weekends
Loads of new builds sprouting up everywhere at all price points but there’s a good stock of 1920-30s stuff and you’ll get a lot for your money compared to London.
We’re just off the town centre and it’s pretty neat having cinemas, theatres and tons of pubs and restaurants just 5 mins walk away.
The Barracks (it’s a squadee town) has been massively reduced over the last few years and there’s only a few thousand left, I believe, so you only have the usual drink related problems every biggish town has on a Saturday night.
Traffic can be pretty horrific at peak times trying to get to and from the station do I’d choose somewhere you can either walk or cycle from.
Colchester is quite conveniently placed for trains as virtually everything stops there and you’ll get a seat if you avoid the intercitys. Greater Anglia can be a pain in the arse and when it goes wrong it usually does it big time stylee and their alternative route is via Cambridge! (And takes 3-4 hours!). When this happens it’s best just to find a pub and wait it out. The line is fairly reliable but it is expensive at nearly £5k but plenty of people do it (inc me
but I get a discount ). They do suffer from lots of short-forms but there’s a new fleet coming in the next few years. The weekend engineering works has been going on forever and will no doubt continue to do so in the future which means replacement bus services probably for evermore at weekends Loads of new builds sprouting up everywhere at all price points but there’s a good stock of 1920-30s stuff and you’ll get a lot for your money compared to London.
We’re just off the town centre and it’s pretty neat having cinemas, theatres and tons of pubs and restaurants just 5 mins walk away.
The Barracks (it’s a squadee town) has been massively reduced over the last few years and there’s only a few thousand left, I believe, so you only have the usual drink related problems every biggish town has on a Saturday night.
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