London areas - where to buy? 7 February 2005 at 11:46AM edited 5 February 2014 at 5:52PM in House Buying, Renting & Selling 115 replies 168.5K views

happy_penguin

What area of London (max zone 3, I think - is zone 2 even possible?) would unite all these factors?
1. Access to a garden, ground floor, not ex-council-flat, studio/1/2 bedroom flat, preferably Victorian.
2. Up to 160k.
3. Reasonable council taxes
4. Reasonable transport access.
5. A lovely high street with few chain shops.
6. A nice public library.
7. Markets and car boot sales.

westlondonbuyer

For everything you want, at a conservative estimate, you're looking at £365k in Zone 2 and £300k in Zone 3. If you can do without the garden, you could knock £100k off. If you can manage with a studio or small 1 bed, you could do it for less than £200k provided you went for overland or bus rather than tube links. A friend of mine has just bought a nice 1 bed flat in Charlton for £160k and benefits from everything else you've specified.

kmmr

happy_penguin wrote: »

What area of London (max zone 3, I think - is zone 2 even possible?) would unite all these factors?
1. Access to a garden, ground floor, not ex-council-flat, studio/1/2 bedroom flat, preferably Victorian.
2. Up to 160k.
3. Reasonable council taxes
4. Reasonable transport access.
5. A lovely high street with few chain shops.
6. A nice public library.
7. Markets and car boot sales.

1-4 are possible, but the reality is that where they exist you won't find a lovely high street, or fantastic public facilities, and the nice community feeling you seem to be after.

Basically look East, it's the only option which retains the decent transport element you want. And you can hope that the Stratford regeneration works and starts to raise prices and facilities in that area.

FTBFun

happy_penguin wrote: »

What area of London (max zone 3, I think - is zone 2 even possible?) would unite all these factors?
1. Access to a garden, ground floor, not ex-council-flat, studio/1/2 bedroom flat, preferably Victorian.
2. Up to 160k.
3. Reasonable council taxes
4. Reasonable transport access.
5. A lovely high street with few chain shops.
6. A nice public library.
7. Markets and car boot sales.

I think you're going to struggle to be honest. Try looking further out, or compromising on some of these (does it need to be Victorian, do you need car boot sales and markets nearby?).

I would forget about anywhere near the tube, you're best off being near a good overground train link.

neverdespairgirl

Generali wrote: »

Other similar affectations were 'Ile des Chiens' (French for Isle of Dogs) and 'South Chelsea' of Battersea (as in South Chelsea Dogs Home presumably).

And Batt-ER-sea-er

neverdespairgirl

happy_penguin wrote: »

What area of London (max zone 3, I think - is zone 2 even possible?) would unite all these factors?
1. Access to a garden, ground floor, not ex-council-flat, studio/1/2 bedroom flat, preferably Victorian.
2. Up to 160k.
3. Reasonable council taxes
4. Reasonable transport access.
5. A lovely high street with few chain shops.
6. A nice public library.
7. Markets and car boot sales.

Don't know what the council tax is like for this area. Transport's pretty good (overland, not tube), there are good shops at the Royal Standard and in Blackheath Village, there's a great market in Greenwich, no car boot sales I can think of.

This is a 1 bed with small chunk of garden in a Victorian conversion on the market for £170k:

http://www.primelocation.com/uk-property-for-sale/details/id/BRBX5735162

1 bed, not far from the first:

http://www.primelocation.com/chain-free-property/details/id/SZFCFJL010603229

neverdespairgirl

Doozergirl wrote: »

Why does everyone call it St Reathem? The only peple that do that are people that don't live there I lived there for 12 years and every time I said I lived in Streatham, I'd hear 'oh, St Reatham!' :wall:

Anyone that lives there would know it's pronounced "Strehm"

It's to tease the people who moved in claiming it was gentrifying / up and coming.

I think you need an apostrophe to indicate the glottal stop - Stre'hm

honey9

Don't forget St Ockwell! :rotfl: When my DH first moved here he lived there on the now notorious Lansdowne estate, he always told his mum he lived in 'St. Ockwell'.

Personally I like Tooting, I've lived there 10 years and love it, I've always felt safe enough there even at one in the morning - you just need to be careful and a bit streetwise. As far as great independent shops go there are loads of Asian grocers, clothes shops etc but on the other hand there are no bookshops or department store type places (now Smith Bros is closing) and there are also loads of mobile phone, fried chicken and poundland type places - we joke it's only matter of time before some enterprising soul combines all 3 and makes a fortune! I agree though that it's a bit run down - Wandsworth council seem to prefer to spend all their money on Putney and Battersea - and tbh prices there are overpriced for what they are although there are some nice conversions and quite a few flats as well as small cottages on the Totterdown estate which is a conservation area.

Clapham is OK but again overpriced cos of all the posh graduates moving there after uni - they don't do this so much any more because prices shot up so much, but the high street is full of chain bars and restaurants now although there are still a few nice places there and the common is great. It's full of drunken teenagers at the weekend though. Clapham North and South are a bit cheaper than Clapham Common. Also be aware that Clapham Junction isn't on the tube, although you can get pretty much anywhere from there.

Having read your list of requirements though I have to say I seriously doubt you'll find all of that in one place in London. Perhaps you could look just outside - in Hertfordshire or Surrey for example - you seem to be looking for somewhere with all the advantages of a small town and of London but the disadvantages of neither.

hethmar

OK, I will probably get shot down but Woolwich is on the up - it has had a bad reputation for a long time but then so did Rotherhithe and Hackney which are now well out of your budget. Also, it is next along from the always fashionable very expensive Greenwich and as we know Kirsty and Phil say, the smart money buys the next area to the currently very expensive.:)

The high street is undergoing a complete regeneration and the coffee shop chains are already in there, there is a whole new town square being built, a brand new library and town hall, the new dlr connection already there and the cross river connection still on the cards. You are next to the river with the river taxis and river buses plus very good bus and main line stations. The Arsenal has undergone huge regeneration and looks gorgeous and there are plenty of old and beautiful houses and flats in the area - The Academy on the common is now being sold as flats too. New hotels and restaurants being built and of course the 2012 olympics will be held there for some competitions.

There is a very old fruit veg and toot market and you should be able to get a flat for that price in a conversion.

http://www.berkeleygroup.co.uk/berkeley/royal-arsenal-riverside

http://www.theacademy-woolwich.com/

http://www.woolwichgreen.co.uk/regeneration

Example, flat with garden:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-15997827.html

I think you are describing Highgate or Muswell Hill there but you arent going to get a flat at that price in those type of areas.

22225

wanstead. zone 4. probably couldn't do it fr 160 butmaybe for 180 grand? or woodford green. further out but has a villagy feel whilst sort of in london.