New build flat in town centre

ILW

Check what these type of places in the area were selling for in mid 2007 and do not pay more than 65% of that. These type of places have dropped 40 - 50% over the last couiple of years.

ET1976

I used to live in a 1st floor flat in London in a pretty noisy area (on Earl's Court Road, very near the junction with Ken High). It was quite an old flat (I would guess 1920s?) and there was no double glazing. There was a pub directly opposite and one a couple of doors down, plus clubs and late-night eateries close by.

The only noise that I actually noticed was the double-decker buses going by. I wasn't disturbed by people in the street at all (and also felt very safe coming and going at night). Having said that, I can sleep through ANYTHING, and someone in the flat above me did say they found the noise sometimes disturbed their sleep. However, a new build will have much better noise proofing than that place (as long as the windows are shut!).

I think your lifestyle will play big factor in whether or not you find the location appealing. At the time I loved being in the centre of the action because I was using all the factilities around me and I liked the 'buzz' of the area. Now that I'm not such a night owl I would possibly find it more of an annoyance.

There will always be buyers around who like (and those who hate) the city centre, depending on their lifestyle.

Lance

Visit the area a few times late Friday & Saturday night and see what it is like. In winter there will be less people hanging around and double glazing will keep the noise out but in summer it will be a lot busier and you may want to open your windows at night.

jolly2020

Fire Fox

Thanks for all of the advice.

kaych

Thanks for the responses!

Another reason that we buy there is because it is also quite near to the station (10 minutes walk) and also of course because it's a new built. Anyway we reserved the flat today. A 2 bedroom on the 6th floor for £216k.

ILW - We have checked there is a block of flat near our development, which was built a couple of years ago. They were sold for between 250 to 300k for a 2 bedroom in 2007-08... but anyway, the price does not worry us so much as we are not looking to sell in any near future.

FireFox - The crime map shows that the development is within the 'high' crime rate area... so it's the flat we are renting right now...

RecoveringAlocholic - the flat is sold to anyone who want to buy, so for people who want to live there and also BTL buyers.