Best way to use our money? Property in London

MyUserNameWasTaken

I wonder if anyone has any words of wisdom. We're looking to buy a property in London. We had planned on buying a family home but we're struggling to find anything we like (that we can afford). With the deposit we have, we could buy either a small 4 bed house in an ok suburb or a nice 2 bed flat in a good area in e.g. zone 2. Either of these would work for our family situation. We're not looking for buy to let but will have to let the property out in the future as we spend a lot of time working overseas.

Can anyone give me any advice on;
i) which of these will be easiest to rent (to long'ish term tenants and not e.g. students).
ii) which of these is likely to appreciate the most in value over the next e.g. 10 to 20 years (OK how long is a piece of string?)

I'm finding it hard to know what we should do.
Thanks!

hethmar

Id have thought its obvious a house would be the most likely to appreciate.

However a 4 bed house wouldnt be the easiest home to rent out.

How come a 2 bed flat is just as ok for your family as a 4 bed house?

Why wouldnt a 2 bed house do?

MyUserNameWasTaken

Good question with a complicated answer. Husband is french and is unlikely to get much work in London in the future so the most realistic scenario is that he and the kids would live in paris and I would work in London and commute to Paris for the weekends. So family house, great as can be family home that we could all live in if needed. Small flat also fine because much more manageable on my own.

I've heard people say that a two bed property in zone one or two is always a safe bet (although not sure anything is in this market) and we could afford to buy in a great area (e.g. Marylebone maybe). I'm worried that with a house in a less established area, we are at the whim of whatever the current trend is in terms of location.

socrates

Would help if we knew your budget

MyUserNameWasTaken

Around five hundred thousand, could manage a bit more for the perfect place.

socrates

500k will buy you a lot for your money - example - at an auction recently a 1,000 sq. foot (approx) flat in St. Johns Wood - normally goes for £1000 per square foot went for £450k but needed modernisation even at £100k to update that is a massive reduction. Before anyone comments yes it did have a good lease.

I would advise buying near to the West End as possible BUT be very careful with leases it is a minefield up there. Check the service charges and if you find a particular block you like perhaps ask other people who live there what it is like - there may be a problem you would not know about until living there.

Get a good lawyer who knows about leases in the West End (I cannot stress this enough)

If you are brave enough try the auctions - most of the buyers there do not look at the West End.

Good luck!

MyUserNameWasTaken

Socrates that's great advice, thanks so much. I hadn't thought of trying auctions but it sounds like a fantastic idea.

Can I take it from what you have written that you think a flat near the west end is a better idea than a family home out in the suburbs?

socrates

Ultimately - living in a 4 bed house in the suburbs is better - but you wanted the option to let it later. The West End would be much easier for the latter.

Its swings and roundabouts and the varialbles are endless, schools, parking, service charges, council tax etc etc...

There are bargains about especially if you are a solid buyer. Rightmove is a good start, look at both options.

Have a look at a few residential property auctions on google. There are couple in the next week or so. Go along and see how it works.

There are plenty of people twiddling their thumbs there who have heaps of advice. Just dont sign anything!!

MyUserNameWasTaken

This has been really helpful socrates. We are in a solid position - chain free with mortgage in principle (good deposit so only a small loan). Off to google property auctions now....

MyUserNameWasTaken

Socrates - sorry for the really naive question; on the auction sites are the guide prices the price that bidding starts at or what the expect it to fetch? (Trying to figure out what I should be looking for.)