How far is far away from transport links?

MelaBella

Sorry the question may sound ridiculuous but im just wondering what you consider is far/close from the nearets transport links?

Im at the early stages of purchasing a property which is 0.8 miles or 15 mnts walk from the nearest rail/tube station in London. I will be reselling or renting out this flat in a few years so just would like to find out if it can casue any problems finding potential buyers/tenants.

For me its personally fine to walk 15 mnts but most of my mates discourage me from buying anything further than 0,5 miles from the station.

Any views?

Fire_Fox

I personally consider more than five minutes an effort. Having said that my sibling easily sold a flat in London that was easily a ten minute brisk walk from the station, I am told that is the norm because it is a desirable area.

Richard_Webster

Depends where it is but proximity to stations, particularly those with good train services, seems to be key to property prices in London.

I would look critically at prices in your area and how they vary as you get closer to stations.

I rarely use a train but if I do then it isn't the end of the world to walk for 30 minutes to get to the most convenient station - but then I am out in the sticks in Southampton and I drive out of the City to eastleigh to work every day.

the-mango

Personally in London I would say that's a 'long' way but it does really depend on the area too and if it has ny other redeeming features

Hermia

the-mango wrote: »

Personally in London I would say that's a 'long' way but it does really depend on the area too and if it has ny other redeeming features

Agreed. It it was central or in a nice area it wouldn't be too bad. As a single woman who often has to work odd hours it would put me off having to walk that far at night. Walking that far through a busy area of central London is one thing. Walking that far in a dodgy area of zone 5 at 11pm is quite another!

thelem

If I was looking for myself I'd be considering the total commute time, so which station it is would make a huge difference. 15 minutes from Kings Cross is an easy commute to half of central London, but if you're talking about a single line station in zone 5 or 6 it won't have nearly the interest.

simplymegreg

That's quite far, depending on which zone you are buying in.

If you're buying in a central zone where the tenant is unlikely to have a car then carrying back 4 bags from Sainsburys Local for 15 minutes is not attractive!

breadlinebetty

I had a house in London that was equal distance between zone 2 and zone 3 (zone 3 also had British Rail, so added bonus) Both stations were each about a 15 minute walk from the house, and when I rented out rooms I found that a small proportion of people were put off by having to walk 15 minutes to the station - but in reality - most places in London are at least a 15 minute walk from the station!:cool:

However, some people (young and fit) seem to balk at a short-ish 15 minute walk to the station, but thankfully most people don't see it as a poblem. In fact, I had some people who enjoyed that 15 minute walk, as they used it as a fom of daily exercise!:)

With regards to supermarket shopping, many busy people these days do it online, or they hop in a cab outside the supermarket.....so that's of no consequence. And if they do want to pick up a meal for that evening on the way home from work, carrying a ready-made chilled meal is not exactly heavy.

I also found a lot of young people had bicycles which they'd use to go to the station.

But you will get a handful of people who expect to walk out the front door and go straight into the station!:D Fortunately, the majority don't mind the walk.

Interestingly, buyers never seem to even consider the distance from the station. Not from my experience anyway

Mrs_Z

I would consider under 10min walk to a station as being 'close to transport links'.

The nearest stations to us currently are 12min and 20min walks and I would not describe them as being near or our house having 'great transport links'. However my other half who catches the train every morning is so used to the walk that according to him we have excellent transport links....

princeofpounds

I always consider it in the context of where I am likely to go. If I am only going to be on the transport for 15 minutes I can tolerate a longer 15 min walk no problem. But extending a 1hr commute to 1hr 15 minutes is much more of a killer.

cosmojohnson

It also depends whether the station is on a branch line with a train only every 30 mins, or a high-frequency (or tube) service...