geoff101

Hello All. I am sorry that it seems like I am skipping around the North. We had some extra photos sent of the Haydock house and it needed a lot of work done. So hard from Oz... We have come across this area that rates very high in the neighbourhood stats and has a bit of country as well. Its a place in Turnpike Grove 3 bed/conserv/separate dining and nice kitchen/bathroom. We are getting some extra photos sent and have seen if the owners will reduce to 132500. Dont want to spend more than 135000 all up including conveyancing.

This could be it.....

http://www.vebra.com/home/search/vde...8&pid=12092417

Anyone live in that area. I believe its off Blackburn road near accrington.

Also thanks for your help and advise. We looked at lots of places around wigan but came across this area.

dunroving

I'd be surprised if they accept your offer - it says "offers over" 135k. In Scotland, that can mean they are looking for anything around 30% over (that would be 175k!).

JAJ

Who knows? With the U.K. real estate market on a downswing anything is possible. But I still wouldn't buy a house (no matter how good the photos are) without looking at it and the area for real.

Jerseygirl

Agreed. I saw a lovely little cottage for sale in Cheshire...even had a friend view it for me. What a disappointment when I saw it...I'm glad I decided to take a look for myself rather than buying unseen.

I also found people were not willing to reduce the price of their property...even though some had been on the market for 18 months or more.

RodRos&Co.

Hi

I Know a couple of people who live in Oswaldtwistle, although I don't see much of them I've never heard them complain about the area.

It verges on the countryside but near to Burnley, Blackburn and not to far from Manchester.

IMHO, I think 135k is a good starting point and depending how long it has been on the market they may accept. My house had "offers over", we got 1 offer less than the price and 1 offer 50 quid over, go figure. We have now accepted an offer 2k in excess of asking price.

Good luck

Rosie

manc1

I have heard the housing market is in the process of dropping in the UK at the moment, so it may pay to sit tight for a while.

geoff101

They accepted an offer 2K less. The husband was reluctant but the wife agreed..Hmm. We have had a property survey done yesterday and it appears that its in good condition. They are emailing the report shortly. This would be the third property that were willing to take a little less. Maybe things just arent selling at all at the moment.
Unfortunately it would be quite costly for us to not buy and then look once we arrive. Being that the UK has strange long winded property settlements that need lawyers(beyond me why) and the dark aged guzumping tradition we could be renting or hotelling for 8 - 10 weeks or more and with two kids in toe that all adds up plus we want to get them into school fairly quickly.
The owners are happy to move out and rent to accommodate our arrival so thats good. We have 9 weeks left....

ElaineQ

Hello Geoff,
I'm from Accrington originally. Oswaldtwistle isn't a bad place - very near to a lot of amenities, and very near Manchester. It's an old Victorian town. I'm ashamed to say (and this really is shameful) that I don't know for sure what the major industry was - probably cotton, as it was in Accy. The little town centre is all stone built. I think the countryside is beautiful - you can walk up New Lane and you are out on the tops, miles from anywhere it seems. It does have its run down and ugly parts, but I think most towns do. There used to be abgrteat little restaurant there called, I think, 'Chimes'. Go for it Geoff, I would

ElaineQ

Have you seen this website for photos?
www.ossygobbin2003.fotopic.net

brits1

Now that has made me feel homesick!!! from the "South East" side of Manchester (Glossop) and just love the moors and all the old stone homes!!! we have thought of the towns north of Manchester as they are in beautiful countryside...near Burnley,Bury etc Preston even....they had these towns on "Relocation,Relocation" and although we travelled around the North West a lot we really did not know lovely towns and villages exsisted and not far from Manchester.....the old song "I'm a lassie from Lancashire" springs to mind!!! boy do I miss the moors!!!!
Jackie in Perth who has a view of the hills from our front lounge but still not the same!!!

dingbat

Please answer in the vaguest possible terms, as I am not being nosey, but did you manage to secure a mortgage to buy this property? No one will lend to us, as we have no UK credit history. I am at the point of not being able to move home, because I cannot and will not pay £1300/mth for a crappy rental!

dunroving

You may be getting hurt by all the sub-prime mortgage hoo-hah that's been going on. Lenders are a lot more cautious than they were just 6 months ago. Do you have a confirmed job offer? If so, is it a permanent contract (or does it have a probationary period)? Some of these things can make as much of a difference as your credit history. I managed to get a mortgage with Barclays/Woolwich 6 months after I arrived, even though I didn't really have a credit history. They were more concerned with the type of job and confirmation of salary. Whether that would still be the case now, I'm not sure.

You actually might be better off renting for a while, the way the housing market is. Typically, you can rent a nicer house than you could buy, and it would give you time to build up some credit and gauge the market.

dingbat

Thanks - we do have confirmed job offers, one with a Local Authority and one with the NHS. Both jobs rest on clear CRB checks, which cannot be completed in full until we are back in the UK. There will be no problem with them, we've done the CRB thing three times now. However regular High St lenders won't even discuss mortgages with us when we are still here, even with a reasonable (but not large) deposit. I take your point about renting, but we are having problems there too - large family, with a dog, I have lost count of the number of knock-backs. It puzzles me - who else would be renting a four or five bed house, but a large family?? A couple of them even said "no kids!".

dave.and.lisa

Hi Geoff, Where are you coming back from?, I live in Baxenden Accrington about 5 mins from Oswaldtwistle and know the area really well. I work for the NHS in community but know the Royal Blackburn as worked there too. If you want any info let me know Chimes the resturant is re opening as a curry house I think. It has a great community feel there and has a lot of little shops like a mini town... have you lived around these parts before? anyway you can PM me if you want to know anything lisa.

brits1

Have you tried a mortgage brooker? most of our friends and family do not touch the high street Banks etc they use this method but like all places you really do need a job if you have to have a mortgage. I know we may have the same problem as we will not have jobs when we arrive, my husband is even thinking of coming home with us but keeping his job here for a few more months so we can get a mortgage. Have you also tried to look at Holiday Rentals in the area, they usually work out cheaper and you can book better periods of time for you to stay.....even if it was slightly out of the area!!!!
Jackie