East London BTL Flat - Canary Wharf/Poplar area

bmlg03922

Considering getting a BTL near Canary Wharf. Poplar seems like the closest area with good transport links. The area is a bit of a dive but people working at Canary Wharf are happy to rent there knowing its a stones throw from work. Also, east london is going through changes and the prices should hopfully rise as a result. I dont knwo if the areas around Canary Wharf are due for any redevelopment though. Can anyone advise on these areas?

lynzpower

Prices dropping in Poplar & Bow at the moment, not by much but there is definatley a downturn. Also voids very high around Bow... be very careful

bobalicious

Hmm. I would take two steps back and really think about why you want to BTL at the moment, and where to do it.

How well do you know Poplar? It's not somewhere (I think) is great at the moment for letting if you got the standard out-of-the-box one or two bed flat.

Also - thought about somewhere like Dalston instead? Although I have grave reservations that the ELLX will do *wonders* for property prices, the market for rental certainly seems alive there (ditto South Hackney/Victoria Park) for its more pleasant environment and proximity to the city, esp. Broadgate.

Have a long hard think of your objectives, and identify exactly who you think you'd be renting to.

v0n

If you have cash/and/or independant mortgage arrangements there is usually plenty of two bedroom split floor appartments for sale in what's known as Balfron Towers. !!!!!! as they might be they have architectural classification plus it's high rise concrete structure - no "retail" lender will lend on it. And so two bedroom split level appartments can still be found for an odd £130,000. But location is pretty decent, with amazing views and vast parking space, local market nearby etc.

On the other side of the coin there is The Quarterdeck - a set of 4 high rise buildings positioned on the west side of Isle Of Dogs - Midship Point, Knighthead Point, Bowsprit Point and Topmast Point. Quickly growing area, walking distance from Canary Wharf in the only area with riverside park. Large, sunny appartments, inset balconies, massive open plan living rooms, dutch design, every flat has double floors and ceilings and 50cm think walls, it's absolutely quiet inside, your tennants will never hear neighbours. Very secure as well - concierge, good looking but impenetrable security doors to every flat with custom locks and metal bars mechanism inside.

2 bedroom appartments fetch anywhere from £170,000 depending on the view (Chance of river views or view on Canary Wharf). Rents in the area start from £820 a month.

Avoid ex-council areas around north part of Manchester Road, full of shady element, drug dealers and ukrainian skin traders.

meanmachine_2

"Balfron Tower...associated with the Brutalist style of 1960s architecture."

Brutal is right. If I lived there I'd have thrown myself off the top of the 27th floor by now.

Still, this is BTL we're talking about, not OO, so...

v0n

The funniest part is that many would love to buy it out and erect something new instead but Balfron Tower is grade II listed building. Architectural pearl.

lynzpower

Balfron tower was where that postman was stabbed to death whilst simply doing his job not that long ago wasnt it?

EDIT- no he wasnt stabbed, he didnt die, he was merely assualted, sorry for the panic! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/3596293.stm

Edit also today, cor times flown, I tohught it was in the last 6 months!!

V0n- completely correct about this ---}Avoid ex-council areas around north part of Manchester Road, full of shady element, drug dealers and ukrainian skin traders.

nmiah786

Balfron Towers......no way. I know that lot of council tenants dont even want to go there!!!!! So I dont understand why a private tenant would want to pay that much for that pile or !!!!!!. Listed building.....dont see the logic in that!!!

I think about two years ago there was a few court cases where the coucil forced council tenants go into there!!!

Also, saw a two bed flat in Knighthead Point 6 months ago, both the bedrooms were oblong shape....not practicle living!!! Also, I think thouse blocks are being taken over by some Housing Association.

Please do bear in mind that in this part of east london there is too many people buying without knowing what their doing, pushing prices up!!! Also like lynzpower say be prepared for a lot of voids, unless of course you lease it to the council!!!

v0n

nmiah786 wrote:

Balfron Towers......no way. I know that lot of council tenants dont even want to go there!!!!! So I dont understand why a private tenant would want to pay that much for that pile or !!!!!!. Listed building.....dont see the logic in that!!!

Also, saw a two bed flat in Knighthead Point 6 months ago, both the bedrooms were oblong shape....not practicle living!!! Also, I think thouse blocks are being taken over by some Housing Association.

But.. there are no oblong rooms in Knighthead Point or any of the Quarterdeck towers. Unless you saw some weird custom conversion. There are 4 flats on each floor, two two bedrooms, one single bedroom and one with 3 bedrooms. Barkantine Estate is very good location, very few council tenants left around, surrounded by ultra expensive appartment blocks. Quite a few movie and TV spots, I think first edition of Britains Next Top Model was shot in the hood. Seriously, as far as ex council properties go these four blocks are something else, excellent shape, very quiet, very secure, stunning views and will be worth a lot of dosh in few years. It's the last decent and affordable spot on the entire island.



Typical view:


Well sized open plan living rooms with double glazed balcony walls

lynzpower

Von
how much do these go for?

they look pretty good to me

nmiah786

check these out then

16' by 8', 16' by 6', 16' by 6'!!!!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-10245674.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy

sorry I saw exactly that one, forgot it was a 3 bed:D