Back in 2014, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, decided to reduce stamp duty on new homes, slashing the cost of moving for more than 98 percent of the British public. But despite his attempts to get people buying again, the market for housing has remained pretty flat, especially in areas outside London and the major university towns.
Young families, therefore, aren’t necessarily going to be able to ride a wave of house price increases up the property ladder. Instead, they may have to make do with what they’ve got and look at ways of turning their current house into a “forever home.”
But what exactly does that mean?
Choose A House Near The Right Schools
The Hartley’s are a family that used to live in North London before they moved out of the capital to a market town in Surrey. They decided that they had to make a move early on because of their children’s education. Unfortunately, there just weren’t any quality schools in the area in which they lived for their children to go to and so they had to take drastic action and move out of London. It was a big decision for the family, but they decided to make the change because not doing so could have put their children’s future prospects in jeopardy.
Like many other families, the Hartleys have suffered as a result of the slow economy. They could no longer afford to put their children through private schooling, and so moving was really a last resort. Their saga shows the importance of long-term planning when making a move. It’s not just about the house itself: it’s whether or not it is in an area with access to good schools.
Avoid Future Costs
The reason companies, like Shiply, are popping up all over the place is that the price of moving keeps on increasing. According to Lindsay Cuthill of Savills estate agents, people are putting off moving from first to second homes because of all the various administrative costs involved. It’s so expensive to move, says Lindsay, that people are just putting it off and choosing to stay put. Unlike in the past, where people would have bought a “stop gap property” to tide them over for a few years, now they’re making longer term plans and trying to make do with what they’ve got. They’re no longer holding out for a bigger garden or an extra bedroom, he says. They’re now looking at their own houses, scratching their heads, and wondering whether they could remodel.
Look For Good Rail Links
The British rail system never seems to be out of the news – and for a good reason. Millions of parents depend on the rail network to get them to and from work. Statistically speaking, houses that are closer to rail terminals tend to be worth a lot more than those that are further away. Lindsay says that this is an important consideration for families if they want to stay in the same house for a long time. Does it provide access to the necessary transport links? If it does, it’ll shoot up in value.
Disclaimer: This is a collaborative post.
These are really good tips. With our first baby on the way, I’ve also started thinking of good schools and where we should relocate in the following years.
Good tips. I recently bought in my local town primarily for the good rail links into London x
As a single mum, proximity to good school is the first thing I look at when moving. The house itself comes second after schools and then it is things like malls.