Looking to buy in stafford - a bit of help and guidance on areas please

G

GFB

Active Member
Hello.

This is my first post on here so please be kind.

Myself and my wife are looking to buy a house in stafford or in and around that area. It is the perfect location for us as it is smack bang between our two places of work and a nice commute distance for us both.

We are familiar with stafford as we both know the area for social purposes but we don't really know the housing areas and what they are like, besides our first impressions when looking at houses.

We are looking at the moment for 3 bed houses, nothing smaller and have about 180k ish.

We have looked so far in second avenue, corporation road, holmcroft road and parkside area.

Which place out of those do you all on the forum think is the best or might be worth avoiding. We need a bit of advice and help really.

Sorry if this is a lot of questions and requests for a first post, but you could help us out a lot in our search.

Are there any areas to really avoid (drugs, chavs, noise, boy racers, crime, poorly maintained houses, no shops, drinking teens)?

Are there any areas you think our budget might be best spent?

Thanks in advance. I have looked at some of the other threads on this and found some great information, so thought I might ask more personal stuff for me and the wife.

GFB
 
Wormella

Wormella

Well-Known Forumite
Depending on what you want from a house / area try St. Leonards / St Georges / Queensville Avenue (but I'm biased, we brought a house here last year and it's lovely)

Lots of 3 Bedrooms semi detached - postcode ST17 4LT
 
John Marwood

John Marwood

I ♥ cryptic crosswords
Doxey has an alternative route to the motorway should that be your commute

Anything off Beaconside, Lichfield Road, Cannock Road or the Newport Road will eventually have significant transport slowdowns
 
tek-monkey

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
GFB said:
We are looking at the moment for 3 bed houses, nothing smaller and have about 180k ish.
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OK, 180k should do fine for a 3 bed in Stafford itself. Please be aware any advice I give below will be very generalised, wont fit every house in the area and may well be wrong for many of them, but is the impression I got when house hunting a few years back.

GFB said:
We have looked so far in second avenue, corporation road, holmcroft road and parkside area.
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Out of those I can speak for second avenue/holmcroft as I live in Clare road. In all honesty, despite liking the area and there isn't really any trouble, if I had 180k I'd have looked elsewhere. Nothing major, but all the houses are ex-council style and it shows in their footprint. You usually get a decent garden admittedly, a major plus compared to newer places, but the bedrooms aren't that great sizes in the ones I looked at.

Corporation street has some very nice larger properties on it, but be very aware that they can be a bit colder due to the stone floors and high ceilings. Get one that is insulated properly though and they can be lovely.

I don't know much of the rest of Stafford, other than areas I'd avoid personally. These are Highfields, Rickerscote and the bit on the stone road between near the common but before holmcroft.[/quote]
 
That-Crazy-Rat-Lady

That-Crazy-Rat-Lady

Well-Known Forumite
Again - its all down to personal preference....

I grew up around Beaconside, Sherringham Covert, Kingstone Hill area and can sing their praises as lovey quiet areas to live with excellent access to M6, A34 and the such

£180 will buy you something very nice in Stafford - let us know how you get on and welcome to the forum :)

I am currently in the process of buying a house in an area I don't know - so I understand the importance of local knowledge and expertise!
 
Z

Zylo

Well-Known Forumite
Wormella said:
Depending on what you want from a house / area try St. Leonards / St Georges / Queensville Avenue (but I'm biased, we brought a house here last year and it's lovely)

Lots of 3 Bedrooms semi detached - postcode ST17 4LT
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Indeed quiet and dont' really get any trouble at all around this area

However I suggest, Queensville out of that lot, my street (St leonards) Hasn't got that many nice houses towards the end of the street it has mind you, most are pretty average, I think queensville have the best houses!! St Georges I Don't really know

Either way, Lots of places in stafford to look into not just around here, although great if you have a kid, there's a decent primary school right next to the area and not far from town, at all.. Also I suggest looking if anything is on Tixall road bit further away, but nice houses once again.

Wildwood is a nice area to (If you're in the nice part ;) ) but that's a bit out of the way.

That's my only knowledge really, becareful of corporation street, I don't know it to well but I know it has a lot of students around there, and I don't think the houses are generally that nice around there.. Also isn't there some drug problems around that area?? Don't take my word as I don't know personally just from what I've heard off people, Much nicer places you can live though with that money- Sorry if that causes any offense to anyone :stafford:
 
G

GFB

Active Member
Thanks for all the great advice from everyone in the thread. Some things to really think over.

With regards to our budget, I would like as much house as I can get for the money, but wouldn't mind getting a smaller house if the area is much nicer than others.

We have seen a couple of nice looking properties in the "parkside" area up by the brewers fair pub on the stone road. Few people have mentioned on here about the stone road not being the greatest. Is this in the better area of this part? It's up by the a513 past stafford common. It seems like a 1970s "new build" estate, but driving round the local small shops seem well kept, no graffiti or ram raid shutters and the properties look well maintained and cared for. Anyone know anyone who lives there or lived there themselves?

The houses up there are huge compared to the 3 beds you get on second avenue and that type of area.

Also having a look in stone too as we are familiar with that area too.
 
C

cj1

Well-Known Forumite
GFB said:
Thanks for all the great advice from everyone in the thread. Some things to really think over.

With regards to our budget, I would like as much house as I can get for the money, but wouldn't mind getting a smaller house if the area is much nicer than others.

We have seen a couple of nice looking properties in the "parkside" area up by the brewers fair pub on the stone road. Few people have mentioned on here about the stone road not being the greatest. Is this in the better area of this part? It's up by the a513 past stafford common. It seems like a 1970s "new build" estate, but driving round the local small shops seem well kept, no graffiti or ram raid shutters and the properties look well maintained and cared for. Anyone know anyone who lives there or lived there themselves?

The houses up there are huge compared to the 3 beds you get on second avenue and that type of area.

Also having a look in stone too as we are familiar with that area too.
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it is a nice area. never any trouble. crime rates are low you can feel safe going out at night one thing to bare in mind is that at present there are open fields to the north of beaconside but there are plans to build 3100 houses on this land which may change the semi rural feel to the place (409 houses already have the go-ahead)
 
Withnail

Withnail

Well-Known Forumite
I'd think about the commute angle a bit more if i were you - is Stafford in the middle North/South or East/West etc?

Is it a car commute? Parts of Stafford are pretty bad for driving around, and some are likely to get a lot worse with further housing.

If you both set off for the M6, one heading N and one S, for example, i'd be looking for somewhere as close as is possible to Junction 14. If one is heading E and one W, then heaven help at least one of you.
 
John Marwood

John Marwood

I ♥ cryptic crosswords
Value for money is relevant to what you consider valuable


An extra room versus better places to eat out ..etc etc
 
Wormella

Wormella

Well-Known Forumite
Indeed, it depends on what you're looking for - We wanted somewhere within 10/15 mins of the town center and in walking distance (no more then 30mins) of the Uni, and drew a search area around there.
 
shoes

shoes

Well-Known Forumite
GFB said:
Is stone much nicer then in your opinion?

Better value for money? Nicer houses?
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John Marwood said:
Stone it is then

The referee has declared no contest
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It's a shame really as I grew up in Stafford when it was a bustling busy town, now the town centre is nothing short of depressing. I now live near to Stone and if practical then yes, I would take Stone over Stafford every time. It's a really nice little town, excellent access to M6 J14 and J15, and also the A50/A51 should you need to head East or West.

I couldn't really comment on house prices, but Stafford houses are expensive. We bought a house in Cotes Heath and a house of similar credentials in Stafford (Castlefields) would have been 40% dearer (March 2012).
 
flossietoo

flossietoo

Well-Known Forumite
If I was house hunting now, I'd definitely go for Eccleshall. It's got a brilliant atmosphere, great amenities, proper shops, lovely pubs and amazing cake. I don't think enough importance is placed upon cake when house hunting. It is just the right size, too, if you were moving into the area - small enough to feel at home without everyone staring at the 'new people'.

Eccleshall is also dead easy for the motorway. Before anyone else mentions this, I admit that I don't know this from personal experience but I have been a passenger on the motorway lots of times and it is much quicker via Great Bridgeford.

Withnail is right, some of the nice areas in Stafford would be a nightmare to drive at peak times. If you were stuck on the Lichfield Road you could easily spend as long inching your way towards the motorway as on the rest of your commute.

I grew up at the 'top end' of the A34 and knew Holmcroft and Parkside well. Nothing to worry about with any of those areas - if you like it round there, look out for homes on Creswell Manor Farm too - nice, quiet, brilliant motorway access and trouble free.
 
My Name is URL

My Name is URL

Well-Known Forumite
Where are you and your other half working? To me, that and the routes you use to get there would dictate what side of town you base yourself on.
 
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