Buying a House in London

olly300

St00zer wrote: »

Megarobbie

I would never but a ex-local flat, not even to rent out. My view is why should I work hard and earn money to buy a place to live in which I know the next door neighbour is probably being handed it to him/her on a plate for doing naff all?

I would only buy in a private residence where people alike have worked hard to buy their house.

Does anyone know where I can get details of which London Boroughs have the most social housing? I think that is one way I will eliminate areas from my list.

I believe more social housing = more crime and a nightmare area to live in.

The areas that have regenerated and have been really up and coming are the ones where councils have reduced social housing and more rich city folk have moved in ... Islington comes to mind.

Your post clearly shows you know absolutely nothing about London.

In London former and current social housing includes anything from listed/graded buildings, victorian and edwardian housing to modern housing plus your typical 1960s tower blocks.

I have friends and acquaintances who live in well off areas of London, the house or house converted into flats next to them is social housing but the rest of the housing on the road isn't.

Do they have more trouble from these neighbours? - Nope. The reason being is if your neighbours are lucky enough to live in these type of housing in such an area they will do everything not to be kicked out.

You are more likely to have trouble from private tenants then anyone else as they have 6 - 12 months to cause as much havoc as possible before they can be legally kicked out.

HA and Council tenants especially in places where there is a limit to such housing can be removed quicker. And I know of cases where this has definitely happened.

Idonex

Mile End you want a place in Tredegar Square. Basically Lichfield Road towards the tube. Good luck getting a 3 bed house there for less than 450~500k. The end of Bow before you hit the Blackwall Tunnel Approach has some nice areas too. See price tag above.

The problem with East London is the only people who can afford to live there now as a family are the rich (those who can afford 450k+ for a 3 bed terrace and send their kids to private nursery & schools) or those on benefits who get those houses for free. If you want a flat there...you can pick and choose from hundreds. Nice family houses (i.e not council) are £££££. The area itself is a classic example of the rich / poor divide. You have 1 million pound houses in the shadows of council tower blocks. You have the city boy/girls Guardian reader media types who all think they're artists in Victoria Park and living around Hackney because they think they're edgy, but you won't catch them sending their kids to the same nurseries or schools as everyone else in the area...

When my kid gets to near school age i'll be leaving Hackney ASAP, maybe even before, so i can actually afford a garden.

RacyRed

St00zer wrote: »

Megarobbie

I would never but a ex-local flat, not even to rent out. My view is why should I work hard and earn money to buy a place to live in which I know the next door neighbour is probably being handed it to him/her on a plate for doing naff all?

I would only buy in a private residence where people alike have worked hard to buy their house.

Does anyone know where I can get details of which London Boroughs have the most social housing? I think that is one way I will eliminate areas from my list.

I believe more social housing = more crime and a nightmare area to live in.

The areas that have regenerated and have been really up and coming are the ones where councils have reduced social housing and more rich city folk have moved in ... Islington comes to mind.

Then forget it and stay away from London because you will find it impossible to find somewhere you can live.

Ex LA homes are currently occupied mainly by professionals getting a start on the property ladder in an area they like. Take Islington, I lived there for over 25 years. Ex LA high rise flats in that area tend to START at £250K, The vast majority are owner occupied and the communities, if you choose carefully, can be great. The homes I saw out of my window are currently selling for 750k to 1,250K and some of them are ex LA.

Finchley is another area I know quite well. £400k might get you a nice 3 bed semi with a decent garden - but it will be right next to the North Circular or Great North Way - huge roads that are never quiet.

St00zer, it is obvious where you live that a quarter of a million quid buys you a lot. Please appreciate that in London that amount of money just about gets you onto the property ladder.

PLEASE! Don't buy anything until you have rented in London for a while. You are expecting way too much. Olly300 is absolutely right, you know absolutely nothing about London yet.

St00zer

Very useful info here thank you.

What would you guys do then for £250K in London? Buy an ex-local flat in a nice area ? What would be the plan after this ?

inflationbusting

I had some more questions, which might narrow the choices down a bit.

Why London?
Where will you be working?
Do you have family friends in a particular area nearby, if so which?
What do you want from the property, a good long-term base for the family or capital appreciation in the medium term?

RacyRed

St00zer wrote: »

Very useful info here thank you.

What would you guys do then for £250K in London? Buy an ex-local flat in a nice area ? What would be the plan after this ?

NO! Please rent first St00zer. You really need to live there before you buy.

Try something like THIS first Old Ford Road, E3
or This, in Bow Quarter
Or this, close to the park and canal

The first 2 are gated communities, offering security, in a very nice leafy area with good transport links

St00zer

I actually live in London already. I have lived in London all my life.
I work in Canary Wharf.
All my family live in London and 90% of my friends are based here.
I want a good long term base as well as capital appreciation.

I just don't think council houses are that good althoguh you do get professionals buying them in the area one has to think why not just get a council house rather then buy it?

Sure there is a waiting list etc.

I don't like flats as they are leases and you end up paying a lot in service charges and pay a lot when renewing the lease. I like free hold.

I am very well aware that £250 K does'nt get you far in London but I think that is absolutely mad becuase it means people end up buying a house and servicing that debt for pretty much the rest of their lives.

That is in no way fair and I think a clear indication of how overvalued property in London and the UK is.

But I am getting to the point in my life where I want to buy my own place to live in but I want to do it where I am less exposed to a big downturn in prices and the only way I can think that will happen is by buying a house or a flat in a very central london area.

inflationbusting

OK, that makes a bit more sense. You'll already know a fair bit - everyone else seems to be assuming you're coming in from elsewhere. London is a more complex animal than many other cities.

If you're working on Canary Wharf, perhaps a good connection to work would be quite important. If you're living East London/Essex, it's really quick to get there with Central Line/Jubilee line. Or, somewhere in South connected to the Jubilee would also work.

There is no way you are going to get your cake and eat it, so to say. You will be able to get a property quite near (ie. under 3 miles from) Central for £250k but it will be small and almost certainly unsuitable for raising a family in, considering both the property types and areas.

On the flipside, if you are want a place for the long-term and to raise a family, why should you care that much about a downturn in prices as long as you can afford the mortgage?

RacyRed

St00zer wrote: »

I actually live in London already. I have lived in London all my life.
I work in Canary Wharf.
All my family live in London and 90% of my friends are based here.
I want a good long term base as well as capital appreciation.

I just don't think council houses are that good althoguh you do get professionals buying them in the area one has to think why not just get a council house rather then buy it?

Sure there is a waiting list etc.

I don't like flats as they are leases and you end up paying a lot in service charges and pay a lot when renewing the lease. I like free hold.

I am very well aware that £250 K does'nt get you far in London but I think that is absolutely mad becuase it means people end up buying a house and servicing that debt for pretty much the rest of their lives.

That is in no way fair and I think a clear indication of how overvalued property in London and the UK is.

But I am getting to the point in my life where I want to buy my own place to live in but I want to do it where I am less exposed to a big downturn in prices and the only way I can think that will happen is by buying a house or a flat in a very central london area.

So why are you asking us the sort of questions a non-Londoner would ask!

St00zer

RacyRed

I am actually interested to hear what other people think. As is now apparent despite living in London not all our views are the same. Therefore I find this discussion interesting, useful and I have cetainly taken away quite a bit.

I would'nt want to buy in a high rise, even in a nice area.

I think if i go for a flat it would be in a period conversion.

I think what is pretty apparent is I should'nt go for the cheapest property either in which case £250K is not enough and limits my choices.

I think I need to go for atleast 3-400K to find the type of house I am looking for.

I was interested in buying in East London because of the potential....although it is currently not a nice area I think it is East London where a lot of money will be made from property due to the regeneration.

Or I could be totally wrong and the property prices in the nicer central parts of London will appreciate more as there is only so many houses/flats they can build here and therefore demand will pull prices up.....

I think the latter is what has been happening in the last decade and perhaps there is too much Olympic hype in East London?

What do others think?