Renting in London

sophlowe45

I'm looking to rent in centralish London from September onwards...what i've tried to do so far is get recommendations from people who live in London for more inexpensive areas...so far I have Clapham, Kent, East London areas, Newbury Park.

However, i've just been looking at areas near to Canary Wharf and it seems possible to buy apartments for under £200,000. But no-one so far i've spoken to has mentioned Canary Wharf, why is this? Theres got to be some disadavantages as flats in really deprived areas in East London (at least the ones i've seen through estate agents windows) sell for considerably more..

Also, if anyone has any tips/recommendations for renting (in London), how to get the best price, areas that are nice but on the inexpensive side for London standards please share.

Thank you.

Kaminari_2

Hi Ya!
You will need to define what your needs are. If it is a two bed property you can easily get a decent two bed property in a decent area for £200k.

Part of the reason why Canary Wharf is cheaper is because when it went through its mass development stage about 5 years ago there was a glut in apartments. There is still a lot of apartments in that area which keep the prices more reasonable. If you are thinking about moving always keep in mind ground rents if it is a leashold and service charges. Sometimes they are considerable.
Another thing is often new builds lack storage and are a bit lacking in room sizes. Keep this in mind as well.

Good luck!

lowis

there is not much to do in canary wharf - and as stated above, lots of empty apartments. interesting area and scenic enough for a day trip or two, wouldn't want to live there. transport links aren't that great either to be honest. if the DLR is shut then it is very inaccessible.

if you could be more speciifc then you will get some very healpful asnwers i would imagine :-)

black-saturn

I would advise against flats in places like Stratford, Forest Gate, Barking, East ham, West Ham or Upton Park. The crime rate there is so high and the place just isnt clean or maintained at all. Thats why they are cheap.

Imelda

hi Sophlow45,

In deciding where to live in London I would consider the following:
Travel to work, the cost and time factor (eg I travel in from Kent and my train pass is £66 per month, which is almost the same as travelling in from zone 2 on the tube). Entertainment, if you have to travel to go out etc it's a false economy. Canary Wharf is lively during summer week days but quiet at weekends. You have to travel quite far to the West End etc. Also check the location of the "Canary Wharf" flats as a lot of the cheaper ones are actually in Canning Town (not the safest place to be).
If I were you I would decide on my budget and have a look at everything you can afford, spend some time in each area (during the day and evening) to get a feel for it. By all means ask opinions but Londoners are quite biased to their own area!

Kaminari_2

To give reasonable advice we really need to know what your needs are. Where in the city you need to get to (for transport links). What your lifestyle is, do you have children.

file_wizzard

At present you can just about get a flat for around the 200k mark in East London, i.e Canning town (not that great), or the new developments around Pontoon dock / the barrier point park.

You can go out a bit further (1 mile ish) to Gallions reach, and new flats are 170k ish for 1 bed or around 190k 2 bed, or about the same in beckton ( again not all that great)

Transport links are Good from canning town / pontoon dock, DLR, Bus Jubilee line, Galion’s reach is less well support with just busses, or the DLR ( which in fairness is very reliable)

All of the above are Zone 3 which is about £99.90 for a 1 month travel card at present.

Careful_girl

I lived all over London for 7 years. I loved Clapham and Southfields. I don't know what the prices are like because I was renting. I lived around the corner from Tower Bridge when I worked in Ilford. It was fantastic. I was right in the centre in the evenings and t week ends and then I drove out to Ilford on the A13 waving to the traffic jams. The only problem we had was it was difficult to insure the flat we had because of the area. So I would think hard about what you want to do in your free time, your travel needs and insurance costs along with crime rates. Canary Warf might be fun!! What about Balham? I did consider buying there a while back.
Good Luck,
CG:j

lynzpower

Sorry Lowis, not sure I agree with you here

there is not much to do in canary wharf - and as stated above, lots of empty apartments. interesting area and scenic enough for a day trip or two, wouldn't want to live there. transport links aren't that great either to be honest.

Canary Wharf has the jubilee line too, I think its well connected. It really depends. Some places in the area are further away from the Wharf station ( ie on the isle of dogs) and are not that convenient. If you want night bus routes etc. im not too sure as Ive never lived that way, but certainly wouldnt rule it out.

CW is a fine area to live, and on the isle of dogs itself seems fine, a bit professional heavy and a bit corporate, but hell, theres much worse places to live in london -I just live up the road in Bow. I think its great round here. CW isnt what it was ( used to be completely closed down on the weekends) but so many people live there now there are resturaunts bars shops etc all open on the weekend.

lowis

ah yes - the jubilee line - i completely forgot!!! see - i never go there :-) and then there is the rather pricey boat service, but what a way to commute i guess!

i would definitely live in bow - love the atmosphere and the architecture - much more character than CW - love the conservation area and the cottagey houses. i guess that is what i mean when i say i couldn't live in CW - bit too corporate and characterless. but yes lynzpower is right - it would be a completely acceptable place to live.

sophlowe45

Thanks everyone - i thought i wouldn't get any replies!! In response to the following questions (as i would appreciate all the help i can get!):

To give reasonable advice we really need to know what your needs are. Where in the city you need to get to (for transport links). What your lifestyle is, do you have children.

I work in the City - EC4A - and in the future will either work in the City or Canary Wharf...i don't have children, i've just finished university and moved to London and I am staying in uni halls in bethnall green (where i do not want to live on a long-term basis!!)

if you could be more speciifc then you will get some very helpful answers i would imagine :-)

I would advise against flats in places like Stratford, Forest Gate, Barking, East ham, West Ham or Upton Park. The crime rate there is so high and the place just isnt clean or maintained at all. Thats why they are cheap.

I looked at renting in Upton Park for the summer period - i guess £80 a week is cheap - i just didn't think it was compared to Midland/Northern prices...

CW is a fine area to live, and on the isle of dogs itself seems fine, a bit professional heavy and a bit corporate.

Thats fine as i'll be working in that industry anyway.

Also, someone just recommended Limehouse near CW to me as the more inexpensive but allright bit of CW...and i'll definitely look at Bow!!

Southfields is very expensive no? thats why i'd kind of ruled out looking at anywhere in West London..