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Zone 3 - wheres the catch?

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  • hazyjo
    hazyjo Posts: 15,470 Forumite
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    I'm not sure I'd call Ealing (or even Zone 3) 'central'. I suppose it all depends on what side of London you need to get to.
    2023 wins: *must start comping again!*
  • lisyloo
    lisyloo Posts: 29,610 Forumite
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    hazyjo wrote: »
    I'm not sure I'd call Ealing (or even Zone 3) 'central'. I suppose it all depends on what side of London you need to get to.


    We currently rent in zone1, but I don't think we could afford to buy anything in zone1, so would need to move a little further out.
    I personally would not want a commute of over 1 hour, currently one of us has a commute of 5 mins, but accept we can't minimise both commutes.


    I don't think there is a lot below £350K in zone 1 or 2 that's acceptable to live in i.e. I don't want to be mugged, live next door to a crack den or asked "how much" every time I walk out the door.
  • lisyloo
    lisyloo Posts: 29,610 Forumite
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    I can see there is a real downer on new builds from the MSE community.
    I can accept there may be some good arguments for that.
    However aren't there ANY benefits?
    for example flats built pre-Grenfell may experience high charges in future due to changes that come in. This is a big unknown and risk and not under the control of the leaseholder.
    new builds have new wiring, radiators, boilers, which in total must have some value?


    I am not saying necessarily that the entire premium charged is justified but I do think there is some value in a brand new flat compared to an older one that might need new cladding or sprinklers (which according to some MSE's on previous threads could even be a six-figure sum).
  • hazyjo
    hazyjo Posts: 15,470 Forumite
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    lisyloo wrote: »
    I don't think there is a lot below £350K in zone 1 or 2 that's acceptable to live in i.e. I don't want to be mugged, live next door to a crack den or asked "how much" every time I walk out the door.
    Some of Ealing (and close surrounding areas) isn't particularly nice - just be careful where/if you buy...
    2023 wins: *must start comping again!*
  • hazyjo
    hazyjo Posts: 15,470 Forumite
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    lisyloo wrote: »
    I can see there is a real downer on new builds from the MSE community.
    I can accept there may be some good arguments for that.
    However aren't there ANY benefits?
    for example flats built pre-Grenfell may experience high charges in future due to changes that come in. This is a big unknown and risk and not under the control of the leaseholder.
    new builds have new wiring, radiators, boilers, which in total must have some value?


    I am not saying necessarily that the entire premium charged is justified but I do think there is some value in a brand new flat compared to an older one that might need new cladding or sprinklers (which according to some MSE's on previous threads could even be a six-figure sum).
    You're missing the point though that as soon as you buy brand spanking new and move in, it's second hand. That is what you sell on. So yes you may have everything new, but it's often cheaper to buy an older property and put new things in (or when they need replacing).
    2023 wins: *must start comping again!*
  • Cornucopia
    Cornucopia Posts: 16,154 Forumite
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    It comes down to "buyer beware", which is always, and was always the case.

    Anything much beyond that is just pointless negativity and/or talking down the market.
  • Crashy_Time
    Crashy_Time Posts: 13,386 Forumite
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    Cornucopia wrote: »
    It comes down to "buyer beware", which is always, and was always the case.

    Anything much beyond that is just pointless negativity and/or talking down the market.


    Why shouldn`t people talk down the market, the "market" is just a bubble underpinned by low interest rates, a farce that is standing out more and more every day as people see it for what it is, especially in London?
  • ReadingTim
    ReadingTim Posts: 3,970 Forumite
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    The "catch" is both what it is and where it is. It is, or will be, a converted office block on an industrial estate overlooking the Hanger Lane Gyratory System.

    I would strongly encourage you to go there in person - streetview, which is taken from a car, doesn't accurately portray how grim it feels as a pedestrian.
  • Cornucopia
    Cornucopia Posts: 16,154 Forumite
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    Crashy_Time wrote: »
    Why shouldn`t people talk down the market...

    I can't see that it serves any useful purpose, and the predictive capability of the HPC community seems to be no better than average (probably worse).
  • Filo25
    Filo25 Posts: 2,131 Forumite
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    lisyloo wrote: »
    We currently rent in zone1, but I don't think we could afford to buy anything in zone1, so would need to move a little further out.
    I personally would not want a commute of over 1 hour, currently one of us has a commute of 5 mins, but accept we can't minimise both commutes.


    I don't think there is a lot below £350K in zone 1 or 2 that's acceptable to live in i.e. I don't want to be mugged, live next door to a crack den or asked "how much" every time I walk out the door.

    I can do a 45 min commute from the wilds of Zone 4, as you say though it gets a lot more complex when you are trying to manage 2 commutes to different areas.
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