House prices in London are a joke. We all know that. But even if you don't live in London, getting on the property ladder is nigh-on impossible if you have a normal job and are0’t a gazillionaire, what with all the fees and stamp duty hell and what not, and the saving when you've got a ton of rent to pay.
But if you did come into some money, or saved up a little each month, we've got good news: there are some properties in England you might actually be able to afford. On Twitter we spied houses and flats listed with agency Reeds Rains that are as cheap as £20,000. Just imagine the mortgage on that? And with no stamp duty, they are looking pretty desirable right now. The only catch? They are all in the North of England. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – but it would kind of mean uprooting your life if you happen to live in the rest of the country.
But what do you actually get for your money? Not a shack, that’s for sure. For £29,000, you could get a redecorated, end of terrace Victorian house with two bedrooms and a ‘rear yard’ in Peterlee, a small town in County Durham. With an entrance hall, lounge, kitchen, bathroom, and two bedrooms, the house isn't huge, but it's modernised, airy and rather nice inside. A few licks of paint and some nice furniture, and it could be #housegoals.
For £20,ooo, you could get a one-bed flat in Preston. Granted, the kitchen is a bit 1970s avocado in colour, but the flat has a lounge, communal parking and has no chain, which is the dream when you're buying a house.
Up your budget to £70,000, and you could get a pretty little cottage in Durham, which has a really cute country style kitchen, original fireplaces, and two bedrooms, and a little garden at the front and back of the house.
We’ll leave you with the link to the estate agent’s ‘December Steals’ page, but all of a sudden I kind of want to quit London and move to Durham.
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Follow Lauren on twitter @laurenjsmith
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.