London Property

Fizzymartini

Lizling wrote: »

You won't get much in Battersea for £250k or under except ex-council, and I'd be reluctant to buy in most of the council areas there.

I second this, having spent 3 months looking for a flat under 250k in Battersea. IMHO it's not much point looking to the Northern Line extension as an investment opportunity, as that's actually on the opposite end to 'the better side' of Battersea. The area nearer Nine Elms are the rougher estates - I went for a viewing once and asked for directions at a nearby pub, only to be told by two locals, "I hope you brought your stab-proof vest!" :eek: I kid you not.

And yes, Wandsworth council tax is the cheapest in the UK, but word of warning: quite a lot of the ex-LA flats there are on their agenda for modernisation, e.g. fitting double-glazed windows: I was told on 3 viewings in different places that this would mean I'd need to pay them £8K in a year's time for the mandatory update. And watch out for their service charges...

It's not a place where you can go even slightly below asking price, as vendors there have cottoned onto their status as an "up and coming area". I was outbid on two places, both ex-LA, each time with the property going through the price ceiling for their particular building/road.

I still love Battersea, and would love to live there, but eventually had to give up on that area as I found nothing there within budget.

Fizzymartini

If your husband currently works in N. London, have you considered Colindale? A lot of new builds are going up there, like Beaufort Park and New Hendon Village, and while I'm not necessarily a fan of new builds, that is always a sign that investors see potential in an area.

Good transport links, and on the Northern Line. Home to some seriously good authentic Chinese/Asian restaurants (a legacy of the old institution Oriental City, whose stall-holders have now scattered after its closure, and have opened their own shops nearby)!

harpoboy

What about looking around the areas where Crossrail is opening? Some of the stations in East London are in pretty grim areas, but they will shoot up once Crossrail opens in 2018

http://www.crossrail.co.uk/route/maps/


Good value in Woolwich:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E70391&minPrice=280000&maxPrice=325000&googleAnalyticsChannel=buying

zarf2007

harpoboy wrote: »

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Good value in Woolwich:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E70391&minPrice=280000&maxPrice=325000&googleAnalyticsChannel=buying

too soon harpoboy, too soon....

Lizling

How about Earlsfield? I'm not sure you'd get much for £250k anymore, although last year you could have done, but for £270-£280ish, I think you'd be able to find something. Much less 'edgy' than Brixton but lots of small bars, cafes, nice pubs etc and only a couple of minutes from Clapham Junction. It's something like 14 minutes from Waterloo, from memory.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-40856966.html

It might just be unknown and off the tube enough that things haven't gone completely mental yet and you might negotiate a bit off the asking price.

Oh, and still in Wandsworth (because Wandsworth and Lambeth and the only bits I really know well )

abankerbutnotafatcat

Fizzymartini wrote: »

It's not a place where you can go even slightly below asking price, as vendors there have cottoned onto their status as an "up and coming area".

Up and coming?

I bought in Battersea in H1 1997 and considered it was pretty well-established then as the whole Northcote Road scene was already going strong. A few older relatives still thought in terms of the old ('50s i think) film 'Up The Junction' which was about working class Battersea when the area was dominated by the power station and the river trade but even in 1997 that seemed liked ancient history to me.

movinghelp

So sorry I'm only just now coming back to the thread. Thanks to everyone who has replied. Bermondsey definitely looks interesting, thanks for the tip, ex-LA is fine, my OH is just very worried about noise from neighbours. I know it's unavoidable in a flat but we had a nightmare in Stockwell with a family above us.

Colindale is a bit far out, I definitely think it would be better to be south of the river but feel more central than way north. Good shout with Earlsfield, will definitely consider.

movinghelp

Hey All,

Just wanted to bump the thread as we're a month on and still not much progress. Really struggling to narrow down areas. We've come to the conclusion we have no chance of buying in North London and are focusing on looking a bit further out as we really want to avoid ex-council.

Anyone have any experience of Bermondsey, Morden, Earlsfield or any other good-value areas??