I have a friend that is thinking about moving back to the UK.He is from Brighton but would like to try a different region to call home. He is ok with being 20 miles distance of Manchester.He plans to buy a car so transportation should not be too much of an issue for work into Mans.He doesn't want to be out in the sticks nor right in Manchester centre. Wants a bit of night life and other things to do plus easy access to shops.

Will a budget of 300K Sterling=$470K be enough to buy a detached home,or would he need to move further out to afford a nice detached house? He would prefer to spend less.About 270K to be exact.

And what townships in that region near Manchester would you recommend?

Thanks

Similar budget to what i am working on, my internet research into the house market seems to indicate that 250k should be enough for a modest 3 bedroom house.

I don't know that area of the country, so cannot comment on specific areas.

However, just to say that £270k is a funny kind of house price due to the stamp duty thresholds.

Stamp duty jumps from 1% at £250k up to 3% from £250k - £500k. It makes quite a difference to the purchaser, so you don't often see houses selling for around the £260k - £270 mark.

Hi there
Prior to moving to Canada we lived in Chorlton, Manchester for over 20 years. I liked the area, it was 20-30 min from the City centre. The tram now is extended to Chorlton so probabily takes less time. The Peaks are close enough to go walking for a day trip or the lakes for a night away.
Chorlton has bars, restaurants and some little quirky shops, but the Trafford centre is 10 mins away.
He would be able to buy a semi or that amount, not too sure about detached.
Hope this helps

Thanks for the feedback.He is a older(mid 50's) very nice gentleman that is feeling his way through this whole process. He is at the stage in the process of finding out if this is a doable goal. I will relay any and all info learned from those of you that has taken the time to offer advise. I get the impression that he does prefer a detached house with a garden. That seem to be his starting point in terms of the dwelling it self. He is more flexible about the area near Manchester. He loves the Pub life so that to will be important. Will probably see him in a few days.
Thanks again for your suggestions.

Just search the real estate websites.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk

I lived Altrincham, a really nice area close to Manchester... Its where the smiths used to record, incidentally in the house I lived in there.. hey Mike!!