Buying in Swanley (S.E London outskirt)

NinaSwiss

I currently work in South Bromley, live in Downham and hoping to start house hunting in about 6 months time.

Idealy looking for a 3 bed house (to take in lodgers) within 25mins walk to train station. Budget is very limited at £195k-£200k but research so far (land registry) indicates I could get a 3-bed property in the Swanley area at my budget (or even less for a property requiring modernisation)

a few examples below:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=31255555&sale=46597103&country=england

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=31776787&sale=46250909&country=england

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=29295238&sale=46916675&country=england

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=31208092&sale=46597109&country=england

As I turn 30 in a year, I'm after a place I'd be happy to settle in for the next 5-10 years incase i end up with kids so would rather go for a house as opposed to a flat

Is anyone able to advise on what the area is like from experience?

I have lived in both nice areas (kingston and sutton) as well as not-so-attractive areas (homerton hackney and downham) so have some tolerance for not so trendy areas but would avoid any area riddled with crime.
The listed properties appear to be in nicer-looking and well kept streets so I'm hoping that they could be good spots in the area that are worth buying into. I also like that there's alot of green near by.

betsie

Hi
I have lived in Swanley and like most areas there are some very good roads with houses £500k plus and some not so nice roads.
The shopping area is not bad their is a big Asda, Wilkinsons, Boots, Superdrugs. The station goes to London Bridge and Victoria.
I never encountered any problems but their is a large Gypsie community in the area most of whom now live in houses, so you often get the Pony and Traps riding down the roads.
There is a lovely Park nearby which has a huge lake and miniature steam trains. Very good for transport links as close to M25, M20, A20.
and A2.
If you see a house you like you will easily see from a drive by if it is in one of the less desirable roads.

m0t

Swanley has a very large travelling community, make of that what you will.

My work colleague who lives there says it is a hole and he suffers a lot of problems with anti social behaviour (he says he lives in the 'nice' part).

My girlfriend says it is significantly worse than Downham and she (along with her family and friends) have vetoed my attempts to look at houses in the area.

davsidipp

m0t wrote: »

Swanley has a very large travelling community, make of that what you will.

My work colleague who lives there says it is a hole and he suffers a lot of problems with anti social behaviour (he says he lives in the 'nice' part).

My girlfriend says it is significantly worse than Downham and she (along with her family and friends) have vetoed my attempts to look at houses in the area.

i agree swanley has its bad parts,but downham is far worse,some of the travellers cause no problems,it all depends where you live.

AnxiousMum

Hmmm, the people I 'know' who live in Swanley - well, they're not travellers, they are regular white British.....and I wouldn't want to live anywhere near them! There is a rather large council estate which I have heard is very rough. I have had friends who are teachers who have gone to work in primary schools there, and left quite quickly - not because of the school, or the students, but the type of parent they have to deal with.

I'm sure there are some good areas in Swanley - but would think they would be the ones with property and high fences on the outskirts.....

It's not an area that I would consider moving to - but that's just from personal experience, not through having lived there.

NinaSwiss

Mmn I thought Swanley is supposed to be a commuter town. So where do all these commuters live?

I realise the general area isnt the best of places but I'd be content with something on a decent street with a safe road leading to the train station as I dont intend to socialise in the area.

Research indicates that the travel community reside around the maidstone road/old maidstone road areas and a work colleague living in the area advised to avoid the hart dyke/lime road areas due to a housing estate there (though i'm unable to locate the estate on google maps).

I guess I'll need to do a lot of drive bys closer to the time. It's just so difficult to work out the safe/unsafe areas. I live in Downham which dosent have a great reputation but I've never considered it unsafe. However I dislike the style of the shared entrace terraced properties and some streets are unkept.

For renting(house-share) it is ideal as its cheap, close to work, Bromley and Beckenham. Ofcourse there are nicer looking areas but they are unaffordable. Even 2-bed maisonettes are out of my reach.

I could also look at Welling, Falconwood, Eltham, Sidcup or Crayford but my preference is somewhere with easy travel to Bromley for socialising.

Cornucopia

Each of the towns and villages in this part of Kent have their own distinctive personality. Swanley is a real mix - one of the main let-downs is the shopping centre, which has a number of closed-down shops and a down-at-heel feel to it. (I was there yesterday).

The big brand shops (Asda, Wilkinson & Aldi) are all nice, clean & tidy, but if you want anything else, you need to go to Bluewater, Orpington or Bromley.

If you are commuting by car, then there are many smaller villages that will probably provide what you are looking for with a nicer atmosphere than Swanley.

Have you considered Orpington - that gives a choice of train & bus to get to Bromley.

If you are commuting by train, it gets a bit harder, because many of the villages with stations are prime commuter belt. (You could look at Longfield, though).

NinaSwiss

I'll eventually be driving to get around but need to stay within the m25 for accessibility to prospective lodgers and friends/family visiting via bus/train.
Since I'd be living alone (if i get no lodgers), I'd rather live in a less remote area.

Orpington would be perfect but is highly unaffordable.

Cornucopia

NinaSwiss wrote: »

Orpington would be perfect but is highly unaffordable.

Not really - there are 3-bed houses for £200k. Sidcup is another alternative. Both Sidcup & Orpington are a relatively easy journey to Bromley, whereas Crayford & Welling are more difficult.

I would suggest that you put in Bromley, 10 mile radius, £200k & minimum 3 beds into a property search engine and see what comes up.

ultrarunner

Buses from Sidcup to Bromley I seem to recall.

I would avoid Swanley. Orpington seems to have gone downhill since I grew up there. Sidcup has some ok parts.

NinaSwiss

Cornucopia wrote: »

Not really - there are 3-bed houses for £200k. Sidcup is another alternative. Both Sidcup & Orpington are a relatively easy journey to Bromley, whereas Crayford & Welling are more difficult.

I would suggest that you put in Bromley, 10 mile radius, £200k & minimum 3 beds into a property search engine and see what comes up.

A lot of the properties with the 'Orpington' tag are actually in st. Mary Cray, which is another area I have been advised to avoid. Looking at sold houses in st Mary Cray, there are some in the nicer parts that were affordable so hopefully there'll be a better stock of houses later this year.

This one near Bickely would have been a pretty good bargain.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=32502421&sale=46916048&country=england

I'd also be happy with something like these in Downham as I'm familiar with the pros & cons of the area and I currently live 5 minutes away.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=30916463&sale=45526781&country=england

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=18823062&sale=23368041&country=england

I guess I'll have to see what the market is like 6-9 months into the year. Once I've saved my target amount, I'm more than happy to wait abit untill a bargain comes along.