Stratford Olympic village

sann420

Hi guys

This is my first post so a big hello to all the members of this forum :j

I am a first time buyer looking for a 2 bed property in London. I believe the Olympic village shared-ownership flats are going to be launching in the next 6 months or so. I work in Canary Wharf so its an easy commute + Stratford is supposed to be really up and coming therefore I am interested.

So my generic question to you guys is:

Is it worth buying in this area ? how much would you pay for it ?
Any pros and cons you can think of ?


many thanks
Ali

mulronie

Wild horses couldn't drag me to live in Stratford, not even if Usain Bolt himself had once taken a dump in the very flat I was buying.

Not for me, I'm afraid; I haven't seen the particulars but given the circumstances I would expect the flats to be overpriced, poorly constructed and come with crazy management charges.

sann420

lol @ Usain Bolt

I also think the new flats are going to be over priced as they normally are every where in London.

But what about the existing property between Stratford and West Ham Station ?

To be honest with my budget of maximum of 310k its one of very few areas in London that I can afford a freehold house.

katejo

sann420 wrote: »

lol @ Usain Bolt

I also think the new flats are going to be over priced as they normally are every where in London.

But what about the existing property between Stratford and West Ham Station ?

To be honest with my budget of maximum of 310k its one of very few areas in London that I can afford a freehold house.

If I were buying now, my budget would be similar to yours but I wouldn't go for one of the Olympic flats. I suspect that they have thin walls with noise problems and will huge service charges. Also they will be leasehold. On that budget, you should be able to get a terraced house. I currently have such a house in Walthamstow which is worth around 250-270K. I can't comment on the West Ham area.

Woodyrocks

If work is the main reason, then you cannot fault the location as you will be out of house and at the office in less than 20mins. Besides the Jubilee line, Stratford really does have amazing transportation links and of course Westfield...which means there is always a constant throng of people in and around there. I think property will be overpriced to start with (and I know you mentioned a freehold house) but it really is a good location and if you look at other areas that have been 'revisioned' (major example Shoreditch triangle all the way to the Bethnal Green end - if you have no idea what I am talking about you are way younger than I am! There was a time not so long ago, that you couldn't pay people to live there) - the old school residents will be pushed/moved/encouraged out of the area as it starts picking up thereby changing the total look of the place. Who knows, you might be hard pushed to find a halal butchers around a 2 mile radius in a decade!!

Have you considered stations south of the river that service the Canada Water Overground route? You could definitely afford a freehold house in say Norwood Junction, Anerley, Crystal Palace and parts of Forest Hill. Yes, journey to work will turn into 40mins but you will save on travel and get a little bit more choice from established properties for your money.

But in answer to your question, Stratford is a sound investment and I am not the betting kind! Would I move myself and family there? No, but I don't really like being in the thick of it

sann420

Thanks for such detailed answers guys

From a quick search I was able to find quite a few 2/3 bed freeholds priced between 250 to 300k within half a mile radius of Stratford Station. (As new poster I am not allowed to post links)

Do you think they are over priced?
If I lived around these areas how many times a week would I get stabbed?

There seems to be quite a few freehold's available close to the Maryland Station. Is that a relatively nicer area?

sann420

Regarding South of River I have never been there. I have no friends or family connections there. So I havent got a clue about the area/s.

I dont think any area in London in this price range can beat Stratford for transportation links. The only problem is that I have never really lived there so I have no idea how rough it is. With the new olympic village flats new relatively more affluent people would be moving in. Even the council tennants would be ex military and low income ones rather than junkies so it should be that bad. Not sure we can say same about the existing residents of Stratford?? (No Offence)

katejo

sann420 wrote: »

Thanks for such detailed answers guys

From a quick search I was able to find quite a few 2/3 bed freeholds priced between 250 to 300k within half a mile radius of Stratford Station. (As new poster I am not allowed to post links)

Do you think they are over priced?
If I lived around these areas how many times a week would I get stabbed?

There seems to be quite a few freehold's available close to the Maryland Station. Is that a relatively nicer area?

250 -270 k seems reasonable compared to other current prices . I have been in my house for 7 years but have never been mugged .

Fire_Fox

sann420 wrote: »

Thanks for such detailed answers guys

From a quick search I was able to find quite a few 2/3 bed freeholds priced between 250 to 300k within half a mile radius of Stratford Station. (As new poster I am not allowed to post links)

Do you think they are over priced?
If I lived around these areas how many times a week would I get stabbed?

There seems to be quite a few freehold's available close to the Maryland Station. Is that a relatively nicer area?

Research land registry sold prices for the street and area, not for sale prices. You can also look up crime stats for different areas on the local police website.

Unless it's changed Maryland station is very quiet at night, I wouldn't want to be a female alone because of that, but that goes for huge swathes of East London to be fair. It was a funny area, some nice streets and a load of sh1tty ones. Some of Maryland Street was built on contaminated land, I don't know how far it spreads. The case featured on BBC Watchdog.
http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/topstories/683448.cancercausing_contamination_in_houses_still_unresolved_after_four_years/

orcocan

maryland will have a crossrail station, so it should get better...

dacouch

Sadly the Olympic park has lots of the Olympic buildings being demolished and lots of the original parkland removed.

They're even taking away a lot of the trees on low loaders