Properties that are cheaper than getting married

Updated
£15,000 flat in Preston
£15,000 flat in Preston



Stop the wedding! You may like the idea of a romantic celebration with your friends and family, and you might like the excuse for an exotic honeymoon, but you won't like the fact that you'll be blowing the kind of cash that could buy you a home of your own.

The average UK wedding now costs £20,500, and online estate agents HouseSimple.com has discovered there are 24 properties for sale in the UK that come in at £20,000 or less. These include a number of one-bedroom flats - but in some places will even stretch to a 2-bedroom house.

The House Simple top 10

1-bedroom flat in Ribbleton, Preston, for £15,000
1-bedroom flat in Sandbank, Dunoon for £15,000
1-bedroom flat in Hawick for £15,000
1-bedroom flat in Barrow-in-Furness for £15,000

Cumbernauld flat
Cumbernauld flat



1-bedroom flat in Cumbernauld for £16,000
1-bedroom flat in Grimsby for £20,000
1-bedroom flat in Largs for £20,000

Peterlee terrace
Peterlee terrace



2-bedroom terrace in Peterlee for £20,000
2-bedroom terrace in Walton for £20,000
1-bedroom flat in Liverpool for £20,000

Why?

Some of these properties are situated in areas where the plentiful availability of certain types of property, relatively low local income levels, and lack of demand, mean property is cheap.

The Ribbleton flat, for example, is in a development where a number of properties are up for sale. These include two at £15,000, one at £17,000 and one at £20,000. Some of them need a bit of work, which is why they are just shy of the going rate of around £22,000 for these properties, but they are all habitable.

The Peterlee house, meanwhile, is in need of improvements, but is in an area where seven other terraced homes are up for auction with a reserve price of £12,000, which is an indication of the abundance of affordable property in the area - and a lack of well-heeled buyers to push the prices up.

Others require an awful lot of work - such as the Dunoon flat. The local going rate is closer to £50,000 for this sort of property, and although there are no internal photos offered by the estate agents, the smashed windows and overgrown garden offer a clue as to how much work will be require to make this house a home.

Is property better?

Alex Gosling, CEO, of HouseSimple.com, admits: "They may not be much to look at, and they may need a little TLC, but it does seem crazy in this day and age, when the average UK house price is over £200,000, that you can still buy a property for a tenth of that price."

If you have your sights set on something a bit more expensive, Gosling adds: "Even if you decide these properties are not to your taste, £20,000 could be a very nice deposit towards your dream property." It could get you the down-payment on a £200,000 property, or a £400,000 property through the help-to-buy schemes.

There will still be those who want to spend a small fortune on canapés and enormous dresses instead, but for thousands of others considering tying the knot, it's a helpful reminder that opting for a small and cheap celebration could see you on the property ladder in the first year of married life. And if you're after a wild celebration, you could always invite everyone to the housewarming.




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